


The Promise of the World

by W_rabbit



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Assholes to Friends to Lovers, Bickering, Canon-Typical Violence, Falling In Love, Family, Ghosts, Giant Spiders, Howl's Moving Castle AU, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nightmares, Slow Burn, Violence, mentions of woodie x wes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-08-24 05:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16633421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/W_rabbit/pseuds/W_rabbit
Summary: Wilson is an unmarried royal who had more passion for science than talking about fashion and gossip. A series of unfortunate events and meeting of a mysterious wizard will prompt him to leave his life behind and embark on a magical journey to find purpose and love.(I suck at writing descriptions so please bear with me)





	1. Wilson - a gentelman scientist

**Author's Note:**

> So here's the first chapter of the completely self-indulgent story for the Don't Starve and Maxwil fandom. I feel like this ship has a huge potential that's often overlooked since most people tend to focus on playing and not getting invested into the characters. 
> 
> Therefore I bring you the Howl's Moving Castle AU that no one asked for but everyone needs in their life. I hope you will enjoy it! ;w;
> 
> The first chapter includes fanart from my amazing girlfriend, ScarletttCake so please enjoy <3 You can see it here  
> https://www.deviantart.com/scarletttcakes/art/The-promise-of-the-world-772737195

The room was filled with beautiful women and handsome men, all dressed according to the newest fashion trends. They were standing in small groups, having polite conversations or dancing to the lyrical violin music. Flocks of ladies dressed in colorful dresses that made them look like peacocks ogled every wealthy gentleman that would pass them by and start giggling as soon as they were sure he couldn’t hear them. Elegant waiters were roaming the room with their plates full of champagne glasses and mouth-watering snacks.

It was all a charade.

Wilson watched the dancing pairs, swirling the remains of champagne in his glass and thinking about the machine he was building in the basement. It was supposed to be able to predict the weather at least the day before. If it turned out well and he managed to sell it, he’d finally have money to move out of this hellhole.

“Percival! Where are you?”

His aunt’s voice interrupted his train of thought. She was always using his middle name, despite him repeatedly asking to stop. She thought it sounded more noble. According to her Wilson was a good name for a servant or merchant, not for a royal. According to Wilson she just wanted to annoy him.

He quickly ducked behind a column so she wouldn’t notice him. There was probably some young lady who was naïve enough to get tangled into his aunt’s web and charmed into believing that he was not only single but also interested. Wilson didn’t have strength to explain that only the first thing of those two was true. He also didn’t feel like explaining why he wasn’t interested.

Wilson’s aunt was doing her best to get rid of him. She didn’t want to have an ungrateful, unmarried weirdo around. People were already gossiping about him and wondering what was he doing in the basement all days. He had a ton of books they couldn’t understand and was corresponding with other eccentric individuals who cared more about atoms and electrical energy than about what to wear for tomorrow's garden party.

If he got married, it would be a perfect opportunity to get rid of him while at the same time silencing the nasty gossip that someone in the perfect Higgsbury family may not be attracted to the opposite sex.

Despite having to constantly stop to listen to the guests praising her party, Wilson’s aunt was slowly getting closer so he decided to move again. He noticed that the door to the balcony was open and scooted closer, trying to not draw any attention to himself. Maybe his family and their guests weren’t too fond of him but they never missed an opportunity to embarrass him in front of the others.

When he finally left the room, he felt a refreshing wave of cold, night air crash against his face. He closed the door a bit so the music and voices from inside were muted and leaned against the railing. It was full moon and he could clearly see constellations on the sky. For a moment he felt the urge to get his telescope but he decided against it, knowing that it required going back into the ballroom and trying to sneak out right under his aunt’s nose. Too risky.

Instead, he just kept staring into the night. He could clearly see the town behind the mansion’s walls with street lamps and windows glowing in the dark. He could see the hills surrounding it – black, intimidating shapes that didn’t seem very welcoming at that moment but during the day they gave him hope that maybe someday he will leave this place behind and find freedom somewhere far away.

His eyes were slowly getting used to the darkness, distinguishing more shapes and suddenly, with the corner of his eye he captured an unexpected light moving slowly on a hill far away from the town. He squinted to see better and for a moment he thought he’d noticed a massive shape moving slowly through the darkness.

“Hey, look! It’s the wizard’s castle!”, a voice called behind him and suddenly a group of kids ran outside from the ballroom, nearly bumping into him. They were pointing at the moving lights.

“I can’t believe it’s really moving! Do you think he’s here to kidnap girls from the city?”, one of them asked.

“I’ve heard that he changes into a monster every night!”, the other one added. Wilson rolled his eyes. He obviously heard the stories about a mysterious wizard living in a castle that travelled from town to town, walking on its own like some kind of gigantic turtle. The more he listened, the weirder the tales had become. The castle was supposed to hide at least one hundred rooms inside, filled with many traps waiting for the intruders. The mage himself supposedly kidnapped virgins to drink their blood, had hands that ended with sharp, deadly claws and wielded a sword that could cut shadows in half.

Wilson didn’t believe any of this.

Magic had been rooted into the culture and society for centuries but that didn’t make it seem any more interesting for him. Wizards and mages spoke mighty words, showed off their abilities in the most flashy way possible and looked down on everyone else as if they were better. All that because they could make some sparks come out of their fingers. Wilson was sure that with a bit of studying all their magical tricks could be easily explained with science.

The light in the distance seemed to finally settle down. Maybe it was a group of merchants that decided to stop for the night, unaware that the town is nearby or maybe some performers wanted to set up their show but a giant, walking castle by any means couldn’t exist. How much energy would such thing consume?

Deep in thoughts, Wilson didn’t hear footsteps behind him and only after a bony hand clutched his shoulder, he realized that he had let his guard down.

“You will now come with me, Percival and talk to Lady Worchester who is very curious to meet you”, his aunt’s voice was cold and he knew he won’t be hearing the end of it for the next week. Resigned, he sighed and followed her inside.

***

The library in the town did not have as many books as Wilson would like it to. Nevertheless, he often picked it as a destination for his walks, since from time to time he would still find a book that he enjoyed there. Maybe not always on a scientific subject, but as a curious and educated man, he would never restrict himself only to one topic.

This time, he didn’t find anything to his liking but he was still glad he’d managed to leave the house for at least a few hours. He could technically spend the whole day working on his machine but at some point his aunt would break in and start another one of her lectures. He would rather avoid it.

The day was very pleasant too. The sun was shining, people around were busy with their own problems and didn’t have time to look at anyone else, car engines battered loudly and horse hooves clicked against the pavement. The center of the town was teeming with life.

However there were significantly less people once he left the center. In the narrow streets young women could be worried that a passing-by group of soldiers stationed in the town will try to charm them into getting a drink with them but to Wilson they paid no attention. He walked forward without distraction, until something peculiar got his attention.

He was on an empty square surrounded by pretty, colorful buildings. In the middle of it there was a fountain with some greens around it. Nothing special if you’re in a hurry and don’t really bother with what’s around you.

Wilson, however, was a curious creature by nature. He approached the fountain to inspect the thing he’d noticed closer.

There were some flowers growing from between the grass. At first glance there was nothing weird about it but Wilson had taken the same route home just two days before and he was sure that back then there was no sign of any flowers there. And what kind of flowers were those anyway? They didn’t look like any plant Wilson knew. They had dark, unsaturated colors and their shapes were unlike anything he’d ever seen grow in those parts. They didn’t seem to be intentionally planted as well, since there was no logical pattern to how they were growing. And there was something about them that made him feel weirdly uneasy.

After a quick glance in both directions, Wilson leaned in and started picking the flowers.

When he was done, he straightened his back with quite a bouquet in his hand and immediately felt that something wasn’t right. The edges of his vision seemed blurry, he had a pulsating pain in the back of his eyes and he felt dizzy. He was also pretty sure that trash cans and street lamps seemed to duplicate in his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose, trying to get rid of this unsettling feeling.

And then he saw the monsters.

A four-legged, black see-through shadow creature was slowly crawling in his direction. He slowly backed off, still unsure if this was all real or maybe some weird hallucination, but as the monster opened its mouth to grab him, he realized there was no point of wondering about that. He dashed forward, running as fast as he could into the narrow streets. As he turned right into a street, he saw one more of the creatures joining the other, both slowly but surely moving after him.

He was faster. He could do it. They wouldn’t be able to find him in this city labyrinth. Even if they were persistent and could go on like this for a long time, there was no point if they couldn’t find him.

That was until he saw another shadow monster on four short legs with a huge head and teeth-filled beak right in front of him. The creature screeched and dived to get him. He barely avoided the hit, turning into another narrow street, hoping to escape, but this creature was faster. It was right behind him and he was slowly running out of breath.

“Say pal, you don’t look so good”, someone grabbed him, putting a hand around his waist and for a moment he didn’t know what was happening. Then he realized that there was no more pavement under his feet and that his legs were kicking in the air, desperately trying to find a stable ground.

He was held by a man, probably in his forties with long face, hooked nose and surprisingly feminine lips. The man was dressed in a white shirt and checkered white and black coat slumped over his shoulders.

And he was walking in the air.

He could see the silhouettes of the shadow creature grow smaller as they were flying at the level of the rooftops now. The man was still holding him close, visibly amused by the surprise and fear on Wilson’s face. If he wasn’t busy praying that he won’t fall and get splashed all over the pavement, he’d gladly fix this expression with his fist.

After a moment, however, his curiosity took a better of him and he started to look around. They were getting closer to the town’s center. He could see people cheering and clapping for the parade of soldiers marching on the street. Nobody bothered to look up and see the weird couple strolling above their heads.

Finally the man landed with him at a balcony of the clock tower. His feet settled on the solid stone and he helped Wilson step off the railing to stand next to him. Then he reached out and took the bouquet of the flowers Wilson had gathered out of his hand. Only then Wilson noticed a single red rose decorating his lapel.

“I don’t think you will have any use for those. I don’t recommend picking them up next time. Not a good thing for your sanity, pal”, he said with the amused smirk playing on his lips.

“What were those things? Who are you?”, Wilson asked bluntly.

“Those were shadow creatures. They can sense when you’re not in your right mind and will make sure that your life is a living nightmare”, the man answered. He didn’t seem to be bothered by his own grim words. “Lucky for you, the effect of the flowers is short. They shouldn’t follow you anymore.”

“Are you that wizard from the castle?”, Wilson didn’t like to not understand something, especially if a wizard knew more than him.

“I am a wizard, yes. And I supposed I do have a castle”, the wizard admitted. Wilson furrowed his brows.

“So the flower thing is your doing”, he decided.

“I wouldn’t say that. After all, you’re the one who decided to pick them”, the wizard shook his head, the high and mighty smirk never leaving his face. “Now if you will excuse me, I have some other matters to attend to.”

With those word, as if it was the most normal thing, he stepped on the balcony railing and fell. When Wilson jumped to see if he’d fell from the tower to his death, there was nothing to be seen anymore, only a single, black feather slowly descending to the ground.

***

Wilson returned home without any further surprises. The evening was peaceful, people passing him by were laughing and talking, completely unaware of what had happened just a while ago not so far away from the streets they were walking. He felt as if an invisible barrier appeared, putting and impossible to cross distance between him and the world around. Despite being a scientist and currently working on new inventions his life until now had been pretty uneventful. He had touched a new world today and despite it being terrifying at first, he almost regretted that he’d lost it so quickly.

He felt like he was missing an opportunity to learn many new things that could expand his knowledge of science.

That fleeting moment, however, was gone and he was back at his family’s house. He passed the gate and to his surprise noticed that the lights in front of the entrance were dimmed and his aunt was standing outside, talking to a tall woman dressed in black.

Wilson had never seen her around before. She was very elegant, her face pale and dark hair decorated by a small hat with red feather. She had a tall, gray collar that made her look regal and important. When he walked closer, both women looked his way.

“Percival! Finally! Lady Charlie came here to talk to you”, his aunt called.

“What have I done to deserve this pleasure?”, Wilson asked politely, kissing the top of Charlie’s hand.

“I will leave you two alone”, his aunt gave him a look that clearly suggested that if he ruins this, he may as well not show his face around again and disappeared inside the house.

“Shall we go inside as well?”, Wilson asked.

“No. I am quite sensitive to light”, Charlie answered. She was watching him carefully and smiling the way a cat would smile when he was sure that his hunt will be a success. Her being taller than Wilson didn’t help the intimidating aura around her at all.

“As you wish. What brings you here then?”, he tried not to seem uneasy. Maybe it was just a paranoia born from the incidents from before. He didn’t want to offend her in any way.

Charlie didn’t answer. Instead, she leaned in, taking his chin and tilting his head upwards to inspect him closer with a dangerous smirk.

“You’re a scientist, aren’t you mister Higgsbury? Well, then you will probably hate what I’m about to do”, she said. He didn’t have time to ask what that meant because her hands suddenly turned into huge, shadowy claws that grabbed his arms. He felt intense pain as if something was ripping his skin and sliding underneath it. He screamed.

“Percival? What in the world are you doing?”, the door to the house opened and the light from the hall fell upon Charlie and him. The grip and pain disappeared and he fell down to his knees, feeling unpleasant numbness in his arms and tingling sensations where the claws had dug into his skin. He hugged himself with his arms when his aunt and the servant ran to him. He allowed them to help him get up and lead him back to the house. When he turned back to get one last glance on the outside, he realized that Charlie disappeared as if she was never there.

***

At first he couldn’t figure out what did Charlie do to him. He carefully inspected his arms but there was no sign of any attack. Not even the slightest bruising. He didn’t feel any different too. After he managed to calm down, he went to his room and tried to understand what had just happened. Unfortunately, his science books had no answer to this question. That was until, while turning the page he accidentally focused on the tips of his fingers.

Or rather the lack of them.

He yelped, putting his hand in front of him to make sure that his eyes weren’t deceiving him but the closer inspection didn’t change anything. His fingers would end where the last joint was supposed to be as if the tips dissolved into nothingness. They didn’t become shorter, they just partially faded. He wasn’t able to see them or feel them.

Then he got an idea. He pushed the curtains in his window apart and opened it to let as much light as possible and then he blew out the candle. The room sunk into darkness but not completely. Moonlight, still bright after the full moon the night before was enough for him to see his hand in front of his eyes.

Along with the black, shadowy tips of his fingers.

He moved his hand against the page of the book, making sure that he could feel his fingers again. They were back in their righteous place but Wilson was sure that if he lights the candle again, they will disappear. With all this evidence, only one conclusion could be drawn.

Due to some unknown power he was turning into a shadow.

Deciding what to do next didn’t take him long. He knew he needed more information because without it, he had no idea what he was dealing with. He suspected that Charlie has put a curse on him of some sort but as a loyal follower of science, he didn’t have any book about magic in his possession. He also doubted any of the members of his family were interested in reading on such topic since they were barely interested in reading at all. He needed a source of information from which he could learn more about his condition and figure out how to cure it.

Luckily, he had an idea where to look for answers.

He packed up his most used books and tools, carefully tucking plans for his machines between the pages. He also took his journal and some bread and cheese from the kitchen on his way. A spare set of clothes unfortunately didn’t make it to his backpack but he told himself that he wasn’t exactly going far. He also quickly put together a torch, not too keen on walking in the dark after all that happened to him.

After such preparations, he quietly sneaked out of his family’s house and begun his journey towards the light he’d seen on the hills last night, leaving his previous life behind.


	2. Maxwell's Moving Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilson is getting used to the life in his new home. 
> 
> It's not always easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hewwo here's the new chapter of this absolute self-indulgent fic
> 
> Girls, you're bothe bautiful please start getting along
> 
> Once again thanks to my gf for checking it for mistakes and thank you guys for all the kudos <3 Hope you will enjoy this one too <3

Wilson had to admit that he’d underestimated the distance between the wizard’s castle and his family’s house. Walking on the hills wasn’t the easiest task, especially at night. Sometimes he thought he’d heard something move in the darkness and he clung to his torch for dear life. Despite the night being bright the surroundings were strange and unknown and every crooked tree looked like a threat. It didn’t help that the fingers on both of his hands were becoming more and more shadowy with every passing hour.

The dawn welcomed him with a thick layer of mist. He was walking up a hill for a while now, his fingers turned to shadow so far that he was having trouble holding the torch as it was getting brighter. He decided to extinguish the fire and leave it behind when the sun climbed high enough above the horizon and he didn’t feel endangered anymore.

Up there, the morning air was chilly and humid. Wilson with longing remembered his coat left behind in the closet. The wind would give him a push from time to time, sending a shiver down his spine and making his teeth chatter. His hand clutching the strap of the backpack was slowly going numb from cold. There was just him, the wind and the mist. He had no idea that the world is so silent at this hour.

At some point he realized that there was something else. For a while quiet thumping sounds had been following him, so soft that it took some time for him to notice. He stopped to look around and the sound appeared two more times and stopped as well. He took a few more steps and the situation repeated. There was no mistaking it – something was following him.

“Who is there? Show yourself!”, he called into the mist, even though he doubted that a human would make that kind of sound. As expected, only silence answered. He made a few more steps and then turned around and went back in the direction the sound was coming from.

There on the grass covered by mist, he saw a weird, hairy, orange creature with short horns and four stumpy legs. It looked a bit like a fluffy pumpkin with a mouth.

The creature made a happy sound when it noticed him and opened its huge mouth to drop a bone with an eye on top of it on the ground. It then moved the bone towards Wilson a bit.

“Is this your toy?”, Wilson asked, crouching by the creature curiously. He’d never heard about this kind of an animal and he prided himself to be quite educated in zoology. Maybe he was on a brink of an amazing discovery.

With a bit of difficulty he picked up a bone and almost dropped it with a yelp when the eye, which he’d believed to be only a decoration blinked.

“It’s looking at me”, he said, moving the bone to check if the eye is following him. It was.

The creature was looking at him as if it was waiting for something. Wilson glanced at the bone once again.

“You want to play? Alright, here we go. Fetch!”, he threw the bone in front of him into the mist. The creature let out a sound similar to a bark and ran after it on its short legs. Wilson waited for a moment, listening to the thumping sounds that were getting further and then closer again as the mutt came back, holding the bone in its mouth, ready for another round. Wilson picked it up and threw again. The clumsy creature that appeared out of nowhere running after a suspicious staring bone somehow made him smile. He crouched once again when the mutt reappeared and pet it between the horns.

“Your name will be Otto. Otto von Chesterfield, Esq. Let’s see… Chester in short?”, he decided. Chester barked happily, tilting his body a little.

“Alright, Chester, here we go!”, he swung his arm and threw the bone again, as hard as his almost invisible now fingers allowed him. Chester ran in that direction and disappeared in the mist but this time his steps were drowned in another sound. A weird grind as if two or more enormous metal plates were moving against each other.

And then a silhouette of a building emerged from the mist, raising and falling slightly as if it was walking. It wasn’t like any other building Wilson had seen before. It had plenty of chimneys and pipes sticking out of the partly metal and partly wooden construction. There were also many windows and rooftops, all mismatched and completely not fitting together.

Wilson grabbed Chester that had just came out of the mist and bumped his leg for some more throws and down the hill towards the castle.

As he got closer, he realized that the massive building was in fact held up by four mechanical legs that were now moving, carrying in the direction Wilson had just come from. The castle wasn’t walking fast but the steps it made were huge, making it hard for Wilson to catch up.

He noticed a small porch with stairs leading to a door and decided to take a leap. He threw Chester as far as he could and then jumped himself, landing on the wood with a loud thud. It wasn’t the most pleasant landing he’d had in his life but sight of the ground running away underneath the castle as it walked away was worth it. Chester grumbled, a bit offended that his new master handled him so roughly and Wilson let it go, sitting up and watching, mesmerized as the hill was getting left behind. When he got enough, he stood up and turned to face the door. He knocked, a bit unsure and when there was no answer, he pushed the knob. The door opened and he walked inside, breathing in a faint smell of wax and cinnamon. It was quiet inside and you could barely feel the castle moving. Next to the door there was a coat hanger that Wilson ignored since he had no coat on. He walked up a few stairs and found himself in a spacious, messy room with big dining table completely covered with books and jars full of things like bat wings, eyes and frog legs. There were also tied bundles of herbs hanged above it, clearly drying. On the stove, the fire was still cracking, making the room look messy but cozy. There were stairs leading up in the corner.

“This place hasn’t been cleaned for a while, huh?”, Wilson muttered to Chester, moving the remains of his finger along the cover of one of the books and gathering a thick layer of dust. He leaned closer to examine the titles on the backs. Most of them were magic-related books but he’d found a few poetry tomes and novels. Looked like he and the wizard shared at least the passion for the written word.

There was a purple armchair near the stove. It looked so inviting and suddenly Wilson felt all the events from the previous day and the night spent on walking up and down the hills fall heavy on his shoulders. He knew he shouldn’t fall asleep in someone’s house, which he entered without asking for permission but sitting down for a minute couldn’t hurt. He settled down and his eyes closed slowly as the quiet sounds of the fire lulled him to sleep.

***

When he woke up, he needed a moment to remember why wasn’t he in bed in his family’s house but in some messy room in an old armchair. Everything became clear after a moment. Weird flowers, shadows chasing him and an intimidating woman who cursed him to slowly turn into a shadow.

That’s right.

He glanced as his hands and in terror noticed that the curse had progressed significantly. His hands were gone and there was just some flesh before the elbow left.. He looked around, desperate to find anything that may help him and noticed that the surroundings have changed.

There was a familiar cream and black checkered coat on the coat hanger and a pan with eggs on the stove.

“So you woke up, pal. Quite audacious of you to come all the way here and take a nap in my armchair”, he heard the wizard’s voice. The man walked past the armchair and reached for the pan, taking it off the fire.

“Forgive me for the intrusion”, Wilson answered politely and then shook his head. “No, actually, I’m not going to apologize. What in the world have you dragged me into?”

“Excuse me?”, the wizard looked at him, raising his eyebrows.

“First some monsters chase and almost kill me. Then when I go home, some woman is waiting there for me and she curses me? You think I will believe that you have nothing to do with this? I can’t even see my own fingers anymore when I’m in the light!”, Wilson stood in front of him. He’d put his hands on his hips if he had them.

“That’s quite an unfortunate condition you got there, pal. I will figure something out about it. I can’t say I had anything to do with it, however. You must have met some witch who happened to be in a bad mood”, the wizard took some of the books from the table and placed them on the ground, then put the pan in their place. He picked up one of the tomes and started turning the pages.

“I haven’t met a witch for 34 years of my life and then I suddenly meet one right after you appeared and she curses me for no reason. You think I will believe it’s a coincidence?”, Wilson glared at him.

“Maybe she had a reason? You sure you haven’t broken any hearts recently?”, the wizard eyed him up and down and came back to browsing the book. “On the other hand, looking at you that may not be the reason after all.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”, Wilson asked, offended.

“You don’t seem like a heartbreaker material, pal”, the wizard answered. He finally stopped at one of the pages, carefully reading the contents now. “Alright, I will fix those hands of yours in a moment.”

He opened a few jars, taking out some ingredients and then left for a few minutes and came back with some flower petals and a mortar. He put everything inside and started grinding it together until it all became a homogenous mass. He added a bit of water and put the bowl in front of Wilson.

“Here, drink this”, he said. Wilson glared at him for a long moment. “…Oh, right, my bad. Here you go.”

He picked up the bowl again and moved it towards Wilson’s lips, tilting it so the liquid would flow to his mouth. Wilson drank the mixture in two big sips and scowled. It was disgusting.

It seemed to work, though, because after a moment he started feeling his hands again. He reached out in front of him and moved his fingers, amazed. He noticed that they didn’t fully turn back to norma thoughl. They were now completely black and his skin seemed to move and waver when the light shifted and reflected differently on it.

“Is that it? Won’t they go back to normal?”, he asked.

“Oh, the curse isn’t lifted yet, merely stopped. The effects of the potion will wear off after a while and the curse will start progressing again. You would have to drink this regularly until I find a way to lift it”, the wizard answered.

“You’re saying I’m supposed to stay here?”, Wilson crossed his arms on his chest, glaring at the mage.

“Well, not for free of course. As you can see the house needs a bit of… Refreshment. I could let you stay as a housekeeper”, he answered.

Wilson’s first instinct was to protest but something stopped him. That wasn’t such a bad deal if he thought about it. First of all, he would stay only until the curse is lifted. Secondly, he wasn’t in a hurry to go back to his previous life. His aunt had enough of him and frankly, the feeling was mutual. Here no one would constantly bug him to get married, insult and embarrass him in front of others and if he was lucky enough maybe he wouldn’t have to hide with his machines in the basement.

Not to mention the castle itself. He’d never seen something like this before and it literally begged to be inspected. How were the legs supporting the castle? What mechanisms were making it move and what kind of energy was powering them up? He could learn all of it if he stayed here and such knowledge could even lead to an important scientific breakthrough.

All that for the price of a few washed dishes and cleaned clothes.

“I... Agree”, he said carefully. “But let me make one thing clear. Magic is a cheap trick used to manipulate people that you’re all powerful and I’m not interested in it at the slightest. Don’t try to talk me into learning about it.”

The wizard furrowed his brows, clearly offended that someone insults his noble craft.

“What do you say is superior to magic then, pal?”, he asked.

“Why, science of course. Everything in the world, starting with why the sun sets, on every secret of the human body ending can be explained with science. It allows us to build great machines, improve transport, communication, basically every art of our lives. Magic is a self-indulgent tool for arrogant show-offs who only think about making themselves look good”, Wilson explained.

“I suppose such an arrogant show-off didn’t just keep your body from completely turning into a shadow and disappearing completely as soon as the light touches it?”, the wizard smirked, visibly amused by the idea that someone may even consider science as superior to anything.

“If I had more time to do my research, I could easily find a way to do the same thing with science too”, Wilson frowned. Of course the wizard had to argue with him. They always thought they are so much better than everyone else.

“So you admit that magic is faster and more efficient than science”, the wizard pointed out. Wilson’s frown deepened.

“I’ve never said that. I simply lacked the knowledge at the topic, which you happened to have”, he protested. “Besides it wasn’t really much of magic, was it? You simply chose the proper ingredients to make an antidote, like one would do with a poison.”

“Potion making is considered a field of magic, besides I had to add on a little spell for it to properly work. I’m afraid you need to deepen your knowledge on this topic if you want to have this argument again”, the wizard was smiling in that annoying way again. He looked like a big cat watching his prey’s futile efforts to escape him. Wilson didn’t like that look at all. “Sit down now, pal. Because of you my breakfast is probably already cold.”

Wilson glared at him but did what he was asked. He reached for his backpack and took out the bread and cheese he had taken from his family’s house. The wizard took and sliced them, dividing them to both of them.

“I’ve never introduced myself”, he remembered, putting some scrambled eggs on his plate. “You’ve probably heard before but my name is Maxwell.”

“I haven’t heard. And I’m Wilson P. Higgsbury”, Wilson answered, doing the same.

“Well then, make yourself at home, Higgsbury”, Maxwell said. Wilson nodded. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.

At the same time Chester, who had been napping by the armchair until then, woke up and barked happily, running towards the table in hopes that maybe something good will fall from there. Maxwell frowned, watching him.

“You just had to take the dirty mutt with you, didn’t you?”, he groaned.

***

First few days in the moving castle flew by with Wilson wondering how can one man make so much mess in such a big house. There were many rooms but every single one of them was filled with books, amulets, jars with suspicious contents, staves of different kinds, maps and atlases and a ton of different items Wilson didn’t even have a power to list. He would climb chairs to fight the spider webs, reach behind sofas and dressers to pull out lost socks that had been long forgotten and left for dead, scrub the windows, sinks and counters and hunt down the books that were lying everywhere around the house to arrange them properly.

If he was going to live here for a while, he might as well put in effort to make it pleasant.

Maxwell wasn’t making his job easier. One time, Wilson found a bunch of mushrooms growing in a half-filled sink in a bathroom upstairs. Since this one was the closest to his room and he preferred to have it usable, he started to remove the mushrooms. He put them on a towel and cleaned the sink before taking them downstairs to Maxwell who was making some potions.

“Is this my mushroom farm upstairs?”, Maxwell asked in horror, looking at the sad remains spread across the towels. “Why did you even touch them? They have a perfect environment to grow there!”

“Well, for me it’s a perfect environment to wash myself and since I’m more evolutionarily developed, I’ve won this battle. Find a different place to grow your mushrooms that is not a functional part of the house”, Wilson answered, putting the towel on the table next to him.

“Next time you should ask before you destroy something I may need”, Maxwell said, glaring at him.

“The house is so dirty that I can’t distinguish between a bunch of mushrooms that grows somewhere intentionally and a bunch of mushrooms that wasn’t supposed to be there. Have it never crossed your mind to actually pick up a broom and sweep the place a bit?”, Wilson asked. In answer, Maxwell just snapped his fingers and the broom raised from the corner and started sweeping the floor in sharp, vigorous movements, making all dust fly directly on Wilson.

“Very mature”, Wilson coughed, grabbing the broom to stop its movements. “Look, I will be honest, alright? I don’t like you. Nothing personal, I’m just not a big fan of wizards.”

“Well, at least we’re on the same page here. I don’t like you much either, pal”, Maxwell said.

“You’re an arrogant jerk who thinks that he’s better than others because he can make a broom move on its own. You know what takes more effort? Moving it yourself. I have no idea how can you live when this place is such a mess”, Wilson groaned, squeezing the bridge of his nose. “Look, I get that our deal was that I can stay as long as I do the household chores but you can at least not make it harder for me.”

Maxwell eyed him for a moment and then came back to chopping bat wings into tiny pieces. Wilson sighed. He didn’t expect any results but it was worth a try.

He was about to go back upstairs and finish scrubbing the bathroom when Maxwell actually spoke.

“The room two doors from yours is a library. Put all the books you find there and we can go through them and arrange them later”, he said, moving the chopped bat wings into the bowl.

Wilson looked at him, a bit surprised but decided to take what was handed to him.

“Alright”, he agreed and went back to his work.

***

It turned out that finding every misplaced book in the house and bringing them to the library took more effort than he anticipated. Each time Wilson thought he’d gotten them all, he would notice another tome of poetry tucked between jars with potion ingredients or boxes with single use amulets. Most of the time he was just moving the books into the library without taking much notice to what they were about but he had the overall idea what Maxwell liked to read. He also had to admit that the book collection Maxwell had gathered was impressive. It meant that despite them being interested in different topics, they both equally valued the importance of expanding their knowledge and analyzing multiple points of view. It didn’t make him any less of an arrogant prick but gave Wilson hope that they may be able to find some understanding.

The library was a big room and the bookshelves were arranged in a way that allowed as many of them as possible to be put inside. Many places on them were empty, since the books that were supposed to stand there were laying on the floor where Wilson had left them after bringing them to the room. There was one big window and a table with two chairs next to it. Because of the shelves standing close to each other, the inside felt cozy and closed-off from the rest of the house, like a quiet hideout where one can go to gather thoughts. Wilson knew that he would enjoy spending time here.

Of course not when all the books are laying on the ground, blocking the path.

“That’s a lot of books”, Maxwell said after Wilson called him to the library.

“Yes, you own all of them. Surprise”, Wilson crossed his arms on his chest, raising an eyebrow. Maxwell bent down and picked up one of the books, opening it and slowly turning the pages.

“Not all of them”, he said, his voice full of unexpected wistfulness. Before Wilson managed to ask what was that about, he closed the book and looked around. “Alright, let’s get down to work, pal. This may take a while.”

Wilson nodded, deciding to let the topic go. It was none of his business anyway. He obviously couldn’t help but get curious – he liked being informed about stuff, but he felt like somehow it wasn’t his place to ask.

They sat down on two colorful pillows Maxwell materialized on the ground and started dividing the books by topics. At first they were working in silence, neither of them really knowing what to say to start a conversation. It felt awkward, since until now they hadn’t been spending much time in one room. Maxwell was a jerk but they were both adults and Wilson knew that part of it meant being civil to others - even if you don’t like them much and especially if thanks to them you have a roof over your head. He was usually good at keeping up conversations without substance, no matter how pointless he found them but now he was struggling to find any fitting topic.

Surprisingly, Maxwell himself came to his aid.

“Huh, so here it is. I remember looking for it everywhere”, he said blowing off the dust from the book he was holding.

“Is this some magic book?”, Wilson asked. Maxwell looked at him, as if he didn’t realize he actually spoke out.

“No, it’s a novel”, he answered after a moment.

“Oh”, Wilson said. “…What is it about?”

“It’s about a man who gets so lost in his ambitions, the loses sight of what’s important and brings misfortune to his loved ones”, Maxwell answered, putting the book on the right pile.

“That’s depressing… Does it at least end well?”, Wilson asked.

“Does life ever end well, pal?”, Maxwell looked at him with a solemn expression.

“You sure like to be dramatic, don’t you?”, Wilson rolled his eyes. “Come on, the books won’t arrange themselves.”

Maxwell looks at him, a bit offended with such reaction but then took another tome without saying anything else.  
“I would like to read it, though”, Wilson said after a moment. “The book. Sounds like it may be interesting.”

“I’m afraid you may find issues with… Scientific accuracy”, Maxwell said mockingly. Wilson didn’t let that bother him.

“I can distinguish between the fiction and reality, you don’t have to worry about that”, he answered.

Maxwell watched him work for a moment, feeling himself grow more curious about this small but outspoken man. He had to admit that he underestimated him - mainly because he was a royal. Now he was beginning to see that Wilson wasn’t a man who could be easily swayed and certainly not a push-over. He got chased by shadow creatures, cursed, almost turned into a shadow and had to leave his safe life behind to seek help and yet he was trying to make the best of his situation instead of sitting down and brooding. Maxwell had to admit that it was impressive.

Not that he would say it out loud, obviously.

***

Next morning Wilson had been woken up with Chester jumping on his bed and giving him a generous lick. The man groaned, pushing the creature away from his face and opened his eyes. Chester jumped off the bed, making happy noises and tugging on Wilson’s sleeve.

“What do you want, you stinky mutt”, He asked, sitting up and petting the creature. Chester tugged harder.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming”, Wilson yawned, grabbed an old dressing gown he’d found hanging in the bathroom a few days before and went after Chester, putting it on on the way.

As soon as he left the room, he felt that it was surprisingly chilly inside the castle. It was, however, a pleasant chill, one that comes with fresh morning air after you’ve opened all the windows in the rooms. A pleasant change from the usual stuffy, heavy with dust atmosphere filling the halls.

Chester ran to the stairs at the end of the corridor and tried climbing them up on his short legs. Wilson took mercy on him and picked him up, before walking up the stairs himself and opening the door at the mezzanine. They led to a small balcony from where you could watch the fields and forests as the castle passed them by. Wilson had gone up there before and promised himself that when he was done with all the cleaning, he would spend more time there to appreciate his unusual living situations and the views it provided.

This time the balcony wasn’t empty. Maxwell was leaning against the railing, looking into the distance. Wilson had no idea what did he see there, since the clouds were so low it looked as if the castle was surrounded by thick mist.

Chester wiggled out of his arms and ran to Maxwell, yapping loudly at the clouds. Wilson followed him, pulling the gown tighter around himself. It was really chilly in the mornings.

“Good morning”, Maxwell greeted him.

“Morning. What are you doing up here at this hour?”, Wilson asked. When he’d wake up, Maxwell usually would be downstairs making breakfast or preparing potion ingredients.

“Patience, pal. You will see in a moment”, Maxwell answered. Wilson approached the railing and stood with him, looking at the clouds and letting the steady movement of the castle calm him down.

And then suddenly the castle tore through the layer of the clouds and the balcony raised above them. Wilson’s eyes widened at the sight of a flock of beautiful, enormous birds flying next to them, completely unbothered. The morning sunlight was dancing on their colorful feathers as they were slowly flapping their wings, so close that if he wanted, he could reach out and touch one of them. He even considered it, but decided against it since the birds’ beaks were the size of his arm. Instead he just watched in awe, completely forgetting that just a few moments ago he was cold.

“I felt like you may enjoy such simple things as nature’s beauty”, Maxwell said.

“Don’t you?”, Wilson asked.

“It has its moments”, Maxwell agreed, his eyes never leaving the birds. “I also wanted to say that despite you being responsible for all the chores around the house, by no means you’re responsible for the state you’ve found it in. Because of that I’ve decided to take some initiative and cleaned up a bit with my magic. There is no more mushrooms growing anywhere and I’ve removed the spider webs since I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be able to reach some of them.”

“You have to be a dick even when you’re doing something nice, don’t you?”, Wilson asked but he couldn’t help a little smile.

“That’s just my nature, pal”, Maxwell answered. Together they watched the birds until they left the castle behind and went back inside to eat breakfast after Wilson sneezed loudly, making poor Chester jump in surprise.


	3. Kingsbury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilson and Max spend a day in the capital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh shit here comes another chapter

As soon as Maxwell used his magic to help out, they managed to clean the whole house in barely two days. It was amazing how much space was suddenly free after all the books found their way to the proper shelves. One could even say that the castle was rather charming now.

Wilson was happy that he could finally work in his own room. He moved the desk to the window and placed all the papers he brought from his aunt’s house there. He found some empty chest and hid all the tools inside. He also put the books he was using the most on the shelf next to the desk. He would have to buy some stands so he could hang his projects on them when he’s working but besides that he was set. As soon as he had his workplace ready to go, the castle started to look much more like home. Wilson had to admit that despite having to do everyday chores like washing dishes, laundry and sweeping the floors from time to time himself, he didn’t have that much peace since forever. His aunt’s nagging was gone, he had no obligation to attend balls or dinner parties and he didn’t have to worry about another woman standing in his door with a smile, convinced that she’ll be the one to finally marry him.

Then there was just Maxwell and his constant grumpiness. Wilson had to admit, that at first he imagined the man to be different and although Maxwell absolutely didn’t lack the dramatic flair every mage possessed, displaying it was hardly a constant for him. He rarely smiled and usually only when he was teasing Wilson, which wasn’t a smile of happiness but of amusement and mockery. Despite that, Wilson had to admit that Maxwell was a witty and intelligent conversational partner. Their bickering on the topic of magic versus science was entertaining, no matter who came out victorious and despite Wilson was often irritated after, deep inside he appreciated a heated discussion.

He didn’t expect living in a magical walking house with an eccentric wizard to be this peaceful. The days passed on perfecting his inventions and reading books with occasional chores to do and besides Maxwell’s annoying tricks that he used to show Wilson that magic is obviously superior nothing out of ordinary was happening.

Maybe besides the nights when he would wake up, screaming and blindly look for a candle to light up, afraid that the shadow creature chasing him in the dream was still next to his bed. Sometimes he would also start frantically touching his arms to check that they’re intact and that he hadn’t completely turned into a shadow when he was asleep. After such nightmare he would usually lie awake for a while, listening to the sounds of the house moving forward through the night. At those times he would hear it. A quiet creak of the door and heavy footsteps somewhere downstairs that would stop after a moment. Usually then he would pull the blanket tighter around himself and close his eyes, telling himself that if it was something to worry about, Maxwell would surely warn him. Then, after the silence stretched for a longer period of time he would fall asleep and the next morning go downstairs to see Maxwell preparing breakfast as if nothing happened. Many times he wanted to ask, his natural curiosity trying to get the better of him but he always managed to stop himself. He felt like it was a secret, a Pandora box that wasn’t for him to open. Not yet, at least. And since the castle must have already ventured far away from his hometown, he preferred not to get kicked out in the middle of nowhere.

***

“Where are you going?”, Wilson asked.

Maxwell turned to him, standing in front of the door. He was holding a bag and reaching for his coat on the hanger, clearly ready to go out but Wilson looked through the window when he woke up and there was nothing but fields for grass anywhere nearby.  
“Why, to deliver the potions, obviously. I’m already late since I had to help you out with cleaning the house”, Maxwell answered.

“Deliver them where? We’re in the middle of nowhere”, Wilson got up from the table, taking both of their plates and putting them into the sink. Maxwell blinked, clearly surprised and then smirked.

“Oh, pal. Come here and let me show you something”, he said. Wilson furrowed his brows. He didn’t like the smug look on Maxwell’s face but he was genuinely curious. Finally he walked down the stairs to the door.

“See this little device?”, Maxwell pointed at a dial hanging above the door. It was divided into four triangles, each one pained in a different color. Wilson noticed that currently the dial was turned to green.

Maxwell turned the dial to red and opened the door.

Wilson blinked, his mouth hanging open. Outside the door there was a busy town street. People walking by in a hurry not even bothering to look in their direction, horses pulling carriages, car drivers blaring their alarms at each other, wonderful noise of a big city filling the air. Wilson walked out through the door to make sure that it wasn’t just an illusion and found himself on a stairs leading to the building the door apparently were a part of.

“What is this place?”, he asked, looking back at Maxwell.

“Why, Kingsbury of course. The competition in the capital is enormous, so I can’t let myself abandon my clients for too long”, he answered, standing next to him.

“Wait, you could come here at any time? From the beginning?”, Wilson asked.

“Yes, of course. You just need to turn the dial”, Maxwell answered.

“Are you serious? I could have bought new tools and laboratory glass and all the ingredients a long time ago! Oh, and clothes too!”, Wilson looked around, dazed. “You should have told me! Wait here, I will get money and a bag.”

He went back into the house, leaving a surprised Maxwell at the doorstep.

***

The city at this hour was teeming with life. Clapping of the hooves, roaring of the engines, shouting of the newspaper sellers all mixed up to create a chaotic melody that might have seem overwhelming to many but filled Wilson with bubbly happiness. The stone buildings with neat little windows and stairs leading to each door were all painted in different, toned colors that created a pleasant to eye picture. Above the rooftops one could see the royal palace towering over the city, its walls white as snow. Shops attracted passersby’s looks with carefully arranged shop windows full of goods. Wilson wondered how long it would take him to find the one with all the supplies he needed to buy.

He’d been in Kingsbury before, obviously. His aunt cared about appearances a lot and no royal could ever go without visiting the capital at least once. He would also occasionally visit on his own when there was a science congress at the university but the city was far away from his hometown so he couldn’t go there often. He kept in touch with many professors and science authorities via letters but having all of it within his reach whenever he wanted was too good to be true.

“So where do the other colors lead?”, he asked, looking at Maxwell who was walking by his side.

“Well, green is the place where the castle currently is at, as you’ve probably noticed. Blue is my hometown and black… I haven’t really decided yet so I wouldn’t recommend going there unless you want to end up in an endless void”, Maxwell answered.

“Your hometown? Do you have a family there?”, Wilson never actually stopped to think about Maxwell’s relationships. He imagined him as a bit of a hermit – interacting with others only out of necessity and travelling because nothing ever kept him in one place.

“A brother and a niece”, Maxwell nodded. “I used to visit them a lot.”

“Used to?”, Wilson asked. “What happened?”

“I became busy. I don’t have that much time to play with a child and listen to the small town gossip anymore”, Maxwell answered but he seemed to be avoiding Wilson’s gaze. Wilson wanted to point out that during the last few days they were hardly busy and Maxwell had plenty of time to go visit at least for a few hours but decided against it. After all his host’s family business wasn’t his concern.

“It’s still fascinating”, he said instead. “I mean how does it work? Does the spell bend space between the castle and the city? Why does it connect us to those particular doors and what would happen if someone got inside that house when the dial is on a different color?”

“Could it be you’re becoming interested in magic?”, Maxwell smirked.

“Not at all, I’m only interested in the science behind it”, Wilson frowned.

“But you do admit that it’s convenient and can’t be obtained with scientific means”, Maxwell was never that easily convinced. He would always drag the topic, trying to prove his point.

“If I understood the mechanics behind it I would probably be able to replicate the effect with the use of right tools”, Wilson, however, was just as stubborn.

“It’s magic, Higgsbury, science is too limited to explain it. You have to admit, in the age when magic can achieve anything science is just a waste of time”, Maxwell answered.

“Maybe some people prefer to actually understand how things work instead of just mindlessly cast spells”, Wilson glared at him.

“There is nothing mindless about it. Learning magic is a lot of work as well, you can’t just assume that you read a spell and suddenly it will work. The pronunciation must be correct, some spells require items, some require amplifiers. If you make a mistake you can suffer serious consequences”, Wilson was surprised to see such an angry and serious expression on Maxwell. He knew that the other man was deeply invested in magic but never considered that his experiences didn’t always have to be pleasant.

“Alright, I admit, I don’t know much about magic- Oh, Heavens, look at this!”, Wilson immediately forgot what he was supposed to say as they turned around the corner and he saw a white facade of Kingsbury Library towering over the square. Tall, monumental columns were holding up the roof above the entrance that was open to everyone who wanted to expand their knowledge. Around the square plenty of restaurants put their tables outside so the guests could enjoy a beautiful day.

“You really act like you’ve never been to Kingsbury before”, Maxwell pointed out but Wilson only smiled in answer.

“I suppose I do. But this place never ceases to amaze me. There’s so much knowledge gathered in this library that a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to learn it all”, he said.

“At least in this case we agree”, Maxwell nodded. “Go in, I will deliver those potions in the meantime.”

“Alright. I will need to buy some supplies later, though. And clothes. I didn’t take much from my aunt’s house”, Wilson said. “You can come along if you have something to buy too.”

Maxwell seemed to consider this offer for a moment.

“I suppose there are a few shops I wouldn’t mind visiting. Besides I’m sure I know the city better than you so that could spare you roaming for a few hours”, he finally agreed.

“See you then”, Wilson nodded and left to the library. Maxwell watched him disappear in the crowd before turning around and going his own way.

***

When Maxwell came back to the library, there was no more Wilson. He’d been replaced by a tower of books with legs, shakily walking between the bookshelves. It took a while to convince him that he can’t borrow all of them at once and that if he finished one he can come by anytime to get another. Finally, although with hesitation, Wilson put most of the books back after picking the ones he found the most useful. They walked to the shopping district where Maxwell bought a set of jars in different sizes and shapes, some flasks and a pack of dried flower petals. Wilson also got some flasks and chemical ingredients, just basic stuff that would allow him to conduct simple experiments. For a start that was enough. He also got gloves that would cover his black hands from people’s stares.

Maxwell barely managed to pull him out of some shops, constantly reminding that they were supposed to get Wilson some clothes before the stores close. That went much faster. Wilson picked a few shirts, a pair of trousers and two vests without debating over them for longer than a minute. He also got a lab coat and gloves to protect himself in case any experiment went wrong.

The sun was slowly setting when they were done and there were significantly less people around. The buildings were tinted orange, giving the city a warm and pleasant feeling and despite a few heavy bags he was carrying, Wilson was smiling. After he was cursed, he felt that his life slipped away from him. It had never been the most enjoyable and happy one but it was something he knew and making such a sudden change required a lot of strong will on his part. In this one moment he thought that maybe it was worth it.

“Let’s go, I still need to prepare dinner”, Maxwell said, interrupting his train of thought.

“Why not eat outside?”, Wilson asked. When Maxwell gave him a surprised look, he blushed a bit. “I mean that’s less dishes to wash for me, right?”

“I haven’t been to a restaurant in a while”, Maxwell admitted.  
“Because you’re a grumpy beanpole who spends his whole days brewing potions?”, Wilson smirked.

“Excuse me? I just have better things to do”, Maxwell frowned. He couldn’t deny that Wilson was right, though. His social life wasn’t the most exciting thing.

“Let’s just leave all the stuff at home and go”, Wilson looked at him with hopeful expression. Maxwell sighed. He felt like he didn’t exactly have a choice. He also had to admit that the whole day in the city made him tired and preparing dinner after he has offered a different option didn’t seem so appealing.

“Fine. Let’s go”, he agreed.

***

“And then the machine exploded in the basement. You should have seen my aunt’s face. She couldn’t believe I would pull something like this in the middle of her big party”, Wilson chuckled, stabbing his meatball with a fork.

“You were quite a troublemaker back at home, weren’t you, Higgsbury?”, Maxwell smirked.

They were sitting by a table outside a restaurant on the library square. Wilson was clearly in a good mood and wouldn’t stay quiet for a minute. After they sat down and ordered food, he let Maxwell tell him about the clients he had in the city and then started recollecting all the times he had visited Kingsbury in the past. That lead to his memories from the life back at his aunt’s house and, obviously, talk about science.

Maxwell allowed him to chatter, listening in silence for the most part. He had to admit that he was curious. Wilson usually was only arguing with him. It was the first time when he saw him this excited and open with his guard completely down. Turned out that when he wasn’t busy being rude, Wilson was actually a rather pleasant fellow.

“Troublemaker? I was the family’s black sheep”, Wilson laughed. “Aside from my uncle, Warbucks. My aunt hates when someone mentions him.”

“What did he do?”, Maxwell asked.

“He is an explorer and spends most of his time travelling in the jungle. Discovering ancient ruins, treasures, you know, all that interesting stuff. I haven’t seen him much, I just remember he had a long nose and was always really tanned. He would also often give me a gold coin each time he visited when I was a kid”, Wilson explained. “Maybe I would join him but I’m not much of a historian. My aunt always compared me to him. She said we were both complete embarrassments.”

“Royals really like to see passion for anything as a flaw, don’t they?”, Maxwell said. “I bet your aunt wouldn’t be happy that you live in a walking house with some eccentric wizard now.”

“As long as I stay out of her way she wouldn’t care. I mean, look at me, thirty-five and unmarried? Can you imagine what people were talking behind her back? Now she can at least tell people that I’ve died or something”, Wilson shrugged and bit on the last meatball.

“You know, when I first saw you I would never tell you were so talkative”, Maxwell also finished his ratatouille. Wilson smiled sheepishly and scratched his neck.

“I was refraining from talking about my interests with the royals. I didn’t want to be considered a complete outcast, there was a façade to uphold. And since you were in no way involved in all of this I guess I didn’t really care about your opinion on me”, Wilson answered.

“Such a pleasant man you are”, Maxwell smirked, making poor Wilson even more embarrassed.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way”, he muttered.

“I suppose I will believe it. Come on now, let’s pay and go back. It’ll be dark soon.”

***

It was dark and the castle was walking forward through the night. Wilson had already retreated to his room, eager to install his new equipment and Maxwell stayed downstairs, reading a book he hasn’t finished. His eyes would from time to time fall on a chessboard he had found when they were cleaning the house. He left it on the shelf since he didn’t expect to use it in the near future but Wilson mentioned being good at chess and he hadn’t played in ages. He wanted to go upstairs and ask him to play a round but something was stopping him.

“He had already spent the whole day with you. Give the poor man a break.”

Despite living together for over a week, they have been spending most of the time busy with their own activities. Wilson worked on science stuff in his room and Maxwell read books or brewed spells and potions downstairs. They would only eat meals together and those would usually pass on constant arguing. Not counting the time when they were cleaning up and arranging books together, it was the first time when they actually did something together. There was some bickering, obviously, but besides that it was an enjoyable experience.

“Look at yourself. Are you really that starved for company? Pathetic old fool.”

Maybe that was the truth. Maybe he was a fool who should have learned a lesson about letting people get close a long time ago. But the desire to not be alone was stronger than his doubts. He grabbed the chessboard, went upstairs and knocked on Wilson’s door before he managed to change his mind.

“Coming!”, he heard from the inside and Wilson opened the door. He was dressed in his new lab coat and there were traces of soot on his face. Next to his leg Chester greeted Maxwell with a happy bark.

“You seem busy”, Maxwell said.

“I’m just testing a few things out, why?”, Wilson asked.

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to play a round of chess since you’ve mentioned that you like them”, Maxwell showed him the chessboard he was holding. Wilson’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Give me a moment. I will come downstairs in a minute”, he said and closed the door, almost slamming poor Chester with it. Maxwell smiled a little and left to prepare everything.

“Getting used to him is foolish”, the voice at the back of his head whispered but he decided to ignore it.


	4. Fondness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilson meets a love-struck mime and goes with Maxwell to the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS UPDATE TOOK A WHILE MOSTLY BECAUSE I'M BAD AT WRITING ACTION
> 
> yes i know spiders have eight eyes but Spider Queen in DST have six, hence Wilson's battle cry
> 
> Also if someone doesn't know, mentioned by Wilson Warbucks is a character from Don't Starve newest DLC, Hamlet who is often headcannoned as some sort of family to Wilson, be it uncle or grandfather. In this au, he's Wilson's uncle and the troublemaking husband to his aunt. If you haven't checked Hamlet please do so! It's a great fresh breath to the game and has a lot of new mechanics and features. Bless the amazing Klei for free access for the nerds who signed up for the closed beta, including me.
> 
> I also need to thank you all for the great feedback! Your comments really make me want to push further and keep writing this stuff and I'm very happy you're enjoying my ideas! And as always thanks to my lovely girlfriend ScarletttCake for checking it for mistakes!

The chess games soon became their little evening ritual. Most of the day, besides meals they would do their own thing but when it got dark, Wilson would go downstairs and play with Maxwell, sometimes until very late night. He soon found out that Maxwell is a formidable opponent and he could easily say that their numbers of losses and wins were close to equal. Moreover, somehow the shared evenings made them grow more comfortable with each other. Instead of arguing over science and magic, they would bicker about much less significant things but it felt more like a friendly banter and there was no venom in their teasing. Sometimes Wilson would borrow some of Maxwell’s potion ingredients to test in his lab and then leave for a while because the smoke made it impossible to breathe.

Wilson also helped Maxwell to deliver the orders in Kingsbury from time to time and quickly got friendly with some of his clients. There was a muscular member of travelling circus troupe that especially caught his attention, although as a gentleman he decided to not act on those feelings. At least, not immediately.

He quickly realized that he would need a source of cash so he reached out to his pen pals from the university. His experiments got attention from a few of them and they agreed to let him give a lecture on it from time to time. He often spent the whole morning at the university, broadening his knowledge and discussing scientific topics with other great minds. Maxwell would joke that after each meeting like this he came home a little more pompous.

***

One day, when Wilson was staying at home to work in his lab and Maxwell left to gather some ingredients in the forest nearby, someone knocked to the door. Chester’s yapping made Wilson come downstairs and open but there was no one outside. Only then he realized that it may not be coming from where they stopped and he turned the dial to Kingsbury.

There was a young man waiting on the doorstep, probably in his twenties. He had black hair and very pale face, that looked almost as if he painted it white. His cheeks, however, had a charming rosy color.

The man seemed surprised to see him and Wilson couldn’t really blame him. He had goggles on his head and was wearing a lab coat stained with soot.

“Hello. Are you Max’s client? He’s not here at the moment but come in. I will make some tea and we can wait together”, Wilson made a gesture, inviting the man in. He followed him into the room, looking around curiously.

“Sorry about the chess pieces, Max left them out again”, Wilson continued, picking up a black and white bishop from the table. “Do you want some tea?”, he asked, looking at the man.

The man didn’t say anything but he nodded shortly. Wilson started a fire on the stove and put the kettle on before sitting opposite of his guest by the table.

“So, what brings you here?”, he asked curiously. He was always amazed by the variety of clients Maxwell had and the things they needed from him. There were potions for good dreams, amulets that would always glow, healing salves for phantom pains and other extravagant substances.

The man still didn’t answer but instead he moved his hands, placing one palm open under his other hand and imitating writing.

“Oh. You can’t speak. Alright, uh… Can you sign then?”, Wilson asked, his mind trying to recall everything he’d learned from a book about sign language he’d found as a teenager. He had been thirsty for knowledge back then and would study every subject possible. It proved useful during his years in boarding school where he and other students would use it to talk during disliked lessons and make fun of teachers they didn’t like behind their backs.

Wes’s face lit up when he heard that question. He immediately started signing something very fast and Wilson raised his hands up in defensive gesture.

“Alright, alright but go slow, okay? I’m pretty rusty. Last time I used it was in college”, he explained. The man blushed a bit and apologized.

“ _It’s just exciting to find someone you can freely talk to_ ”, he signed. Wilson smiled and nodded. “ _I came from abroad to study art and theatre in Kingsbury. My name is Wes._ ”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Wilson”, Wilson introduced himself and then got up to pour the tea into cups. He placed one in front of Wes and sat back at his place. Meanwhile Chester hungry for some petting from the newcomer started drooling on his shoe.

“ _Your dog is cute_ ”, Wes signed and ruffled it’s fur. Chester happily licked his hand in return.

“It’s not a dog. I think. But yeah, he’s pretty cute”, Wilson agreed. “So what brings you here? Maybe I can help? I usually help Max deliver stuff around the city.”

Wes blushed a bit, scratching his cheek. He was silent for a bit and Wilson let him have this moment of hesitation. It was understandable that Wes didn’t want to talk to a stranger about his problem and he wouldn’t blame him if he refused to do so.

“ _I’m in need of a love potion_ ”, Wes finally signed. Wilson raised his eyebrows. He didn’t expect that. Wes wasn’t a bad-looking young man and he remembered from his school years that for the most part art and theater students had no problems establishing contacts with others.

“Problems with a girl?”, he asked.

Wes smiled a bit.

“ _Not a girl_ ”, he signed. Wilson blinked, a bit taken aback with such casual confession. “ _I keep forgetting about how weird you are about courting other men here. In my country most men you’ve met used to have a male lover at some point, or still do._ ”

“Well, yeah, it’s… A bit different here”, Wilson admitted bitterly. He remembered those moments when he had to sneak out of the house to the city to see a man, who would later decide he can’t ruin his life by having a relationship with him and disappear from his life.

“ _You don’t seem very happy about it_ ”, Wes signed. Despite not being honest about his preferences earlier Wilson noticed that after he reacted, some tension left Wes’ shoulders and he relaxed a little.

“Some bad experiences in the past. Anyway, why do you need a potion? Is he not interested in men?”, Wilson asked. He’d read about love potions in one of Max’s books and knew that they weren’t exactly the most humane way to get attention of your loved one. He somehow felt responsible for making sure that Wes doesn’t regret his decisions later.

“ _I’m pretty sure he is. I would even say he’s not indifferent to me_ ”, Wes admitted. “ _He’s just… A bit dense and very considerate of others so I feel that he wouldn’t act on his own._ ”

“That doesn’t sound half bad. How did you two meet?”, Wilson asked.

“ _He’s a lumberjack and lives at the edge of a forest near the city. He often comes by the university to deliver firewood_ ”, Wes explained. “ _He doesn’t understand sign language but he’s trying and we get along._ ”

Wilson nodded with a smile. Just as he suspected, Wes wasn’t really in need of a love potion. Maybe Max was going to have his head for this but he decided to convince Wes not to buy it.

“Look, I think you should just confess to him. I know he may not always understand what you mean but body language is also very important. Being honest would be for the better in this situation. What will he think of you when the potion stops working? Wouldn’t you rather have a real thing?”, he asked.

“ _I actually thought the effects are long-lasting_ ”, Wes admitted.

“Human body will always expel the substance at some point and the effect will stop”, Wilson explained. “If you really like this guy you shouldn’t be trying to make him mindlessly follow you. The best thing you could do is being honest. Wooden he like that better too?”

He smiled, happy with his little pun. Wes shook his head in disbelief.

“ _You’re probably right. I was really trying to make him notice my advances and I guess I didn’t think about communicating them directly_ ”, he signed. Wilson’s smile grew.

At the same moment the dial at the door turned and Maxwell stepped inside, his bag full of flowers, something that looked like spider goop and some jars with suspicious content.

“Oh, hello there”, he greeted, noticing Wes. “A client? Hope Wilson took good care of you. What can I help you with?”

He left the bag on the counter and took of his coat.

“ _Nothing anymore, I’m afraid_ ”, Wes signed. Maxwell didn’t seem to understand though, so Wilson hurried with an explanation.

“Wes was looking for a love potion but we had a little talk and he decided to approach the issue in a different way”, he said with a smug smirk. “Like I said, magic isn’t an answer to everything.”

“Shame on you, Wilson. I let you stay under my roof and you repay me by chasing my clients away?”, Maxwell put his backpack on the counter and started unpacking it. Wilson rolled his eyes. He knew that even without Wes, Max had plenty of client and that it was just him being dramatic.

“ _Are you two together?_ ”, Wes signed, making Wilson choke on his tea.

“What? No, of course not!”, he protested with a blush before realizing that Max can clearly hear him and quickly catching a glimpse of his suspicious stare over his shoulder.  
  
“ _I don’t think he is interested in men_ ”, he signed quickly. Wes raised his eyebrows, eyeing Maxwell with a sceptic expression.

“ _Are you serious?_ ”, he signed.

“ _Yes, I am! Either way, even if he was I’m not interested! Can we drop the topic now?_ ”

Wes’ look made Wilson feel that he didn’t believe him but thankfully he didn’t ask more questions. Instead he finished his tea and got up.

“ _I will be going. Thank you again for advice_ ”, he signed, nodded in Maxwell’s direction as a goodbye and let Wilson walk him to the door.

“Let me know how it went”, he said, turning the dial back to Kingsbury. Wes nodded and left. Wilson returned to his chair, trying to avoid looking at Maxwell. For some reason he felt really awkward.

“It’s quite rude to talk in language one person in company can’t understand, Higgsbury. I thought you would have some manners as a noble”, Max said. And so with that the awkwardness was gone. Maxwell clearly had no idea what Wes asked him about and was still his typical rude self. Self that he had already gotten pretty used to.

“It sounds as if you had any manners”, Wilson crossed his arms on his chest, smirking a little. He walked to Maxwell and started to help him unpack the bag. Max looked at him in surprise for a moment and then just accepted it without a comment.

“I will need you to come with me to the forest. Winter is coming and we will need some wood and other supplies. It will take less time when I don’t have to carry it all myself”, he said instead.

“Wait, wood? You want to cut down trees? With an axe?”, Wilson stared at Maxwell’s rather… unimpressive posture. He couldn’t imagine this scrawny beanpole lifting an axe, much less chopping down wood.

“Is there a problem?”, Maxwell’s frown made it clear that he could sense Wilson’s doubts. Wilson scratched his head.

“No, not at all. I mean it’s log-ical that we need wood for winter, right?”, he grinned, winking at Max, who only looked at him in disbelief. “Get it? Log? Because wood?”

“Yes, I got that, thank you. It was horrible”, Max shook his head. Wilson’s grin only grew from the disgust on his face.

***

“Of course you wouldn’t be doing it yourself.”

Wilson watched as three shadow clones of Maxwell chopped down trees one by one. They were on a small clearing not that deep in the forest. The day was cold but peaceful. The remains of the morning mist were still surrounding the castle when they were leaving but in the forest it was nowhere to be seen. Without the leaves on the trees and bushes, everything seemed exposed. There were no animals to be seen, even those that didn’t usually fall into slumber for the winter. They were following a set path which allowed them to faster advance deeper into the forest.

It was slowly getting more and more chilly, despite there being a beautiful gold autumn not so long ago. Trees had barely any leaves left and it was clear that soon first snow will fall. Wilson wasn’t a big fan of winter. Usually he would let his beard grow especially for this season so he could at least imagine that it was warming him up. His aunt really hated it and would always say that it made him look like some drunkard from the dock. He didn’t care much as long as he was warm.

They had left early in the morning, wearing warm clothes. Maxwell presented a peculiar sight – dressed in a long purple coat that had probably seen better days with white fur around his neck and holding an axe in his one hand and a book in other. Wilson couldn’t imagine why would he need a book for chopping trees down but Maxwell wouldn’t listen to reason and so the book was taken along. Next to them, Chester was happily bouncing on his stumpy legs, keeping up with his master without any problem.

Wilson on the other hand was wearing a puffy, greenish vest and was happy that the gloves he was usually wearing to hide his cursed hands were keeping his fingers at least a little warm. He was holding a sword Max had offered him, despite having no idea what use can he make of it in the middle of the forest. It reminded him of his younger days when he would challenge to a sword fighting duel every person that disagreed with is opinions.

He wasn’t talking much. Last night the nightmares woke him up again and he lied in bed curled up with his blanket for who knows how long. He knew that Maxwell would probably have a remedy for a good sleep but he felt stupid admitting his weakness to him. He also didn’t want to admit that magic could help him in this situation. Max would never let him live that down.

When they reached the clearing, Maxwell put down the axe and opened the book, ignoring Wilson’s skeptical look. He took of a vial from his pocket, opened it and poured the contents on the axe. It was a thick, black, a little transparent substance that seemed to move on itself and shape into something that looked suspiciously similar to screaming faces. Then Maxwell recited a few words Wilson couldn’t understand and suddenly the substance started growing and shaping itself around the axe, covering it completely. Then in front of his eyes it turned into a humanoid shape, looking exactly like Maxwell’s shadow. The creature turned around and started chopping the nearest tree.

After that Max made two more of those shadows by duplicating the first one. Now there was quite a lot of wood chopped into smaller pieces laying on the ground in a pile. Wilson had to admit that it was a pretty efficient way of gathering resources but he would never say it out loud.

At some point he stopped watching the working clones and looked around. To his surprise, he noticed that Chester had disappeared somewhere. He walked around the clearing, looking for him and calling.

“The dirty mutt is probably chasing a rabbit”, Max remarked, watching him.

“Hush, can you hear this?”, Wilson silenced him. They both stopped talking and soon they heard what Wilson was addressing – loud clacking sound that seemed to be getting closer. As it grew nearer, the ground started to vibrate.

“Max? What is this?”, Wilson asked, looking around nervously. Suddenly a terrified Chester busted out from the bushes, almost tripping on it’s short legs. Behind him there was a huge, black and hairy spider whose triangle-shaped mouth could easily fit Wilson’s head. The spider made a hissing sound, all six of its eyes focused on the new prey standing in front of it.

“Wilson, run!”, Max moved fast enough to shove the stunned Wilson aside when the spider shot out a sticky net that pinned him to a tree.

“Max!”, Wilson lifted himself on his elbows, watching as the spider slowly approached Maxwell who was desperately trying to free himself from the net. His arms were restricted and the net was over his mouth so he wasn’t able to use magic.

Wilson looked around. He wasn’t going to run, he didn’t want to abandon Max for certain death. Maybe the wizard had a plan but as far as Wilson knew he wouldn’t be able to free himself. There had to be something he could do to help.

His eyes found the sword he had brought lying nearby. He reached for it and grabbed the handle tightly. He had only one try on this.

“Hey, you! What kind of spider are you with just six eyes?!”, he shouted and ignoring Max’s horrified look, jumped on the spider’s back. The creature spun around, looking for the attacker. Wilson dug his heels into its abdomen, raised the sword above its head and buried it where the head connected to the torso. The spider made shrieking sound, throwing its body against a tree and making Wilson lose the grip on the sword and fall. He instinctively rolled away from the wounded monster then jumped away from another sticky net shot in his direction. His sword was still buried in the spider’s body and there was gross, blue blood dripping from the cut. He remembered uncle Warbucks’ words – a wounded animal is the most dangerous one. The spider was slowly approaching him, leaving a blue trail of blood on its way. He had no time to make up any complicated plan but if he managed to use his body weight to move the sword...

One quick decision later he was running towards the spider. The beast’s movements were slower due to the blood-loss and it took a moment for it to realize that it’s target ran away to the left instead of forward. Wilson made an u-curve and before the spider managed to turn around, made a leap over its back, grabbing the handle of the sword and throwing his body to the other side so he would hang on the handle. He was right – his body weight was enough to start slowly moving the sword in his direction and the spider’s desperate movements were only making the wound worse. Finally, when his feet reached the ground Wilson pulled the sword down, beheading the spider. It’s body convulsed for a bit and then fell to the ground with a loud, heavy thump.

Wilson looked at it, breathing heavily. His mind was completely blank. He had just killed a monster that even Max couldn’t take – Shit. He turned to Max who was still wiggling in the spider web and ran towards him.

“Here, let me help you”, he said, trying to tear the net away from Max but it was sticky and his hands were trembling like crazy. Finally he gave up with a sigh and picked up the sword again. With its help he managed to free Max’s hands enough for the wizard to burn the rest of the net with his magic.

“Thank you for saving me from that net”, Wilson said quietly, watching as Max removed the last threads of the web from his clothes.

“I feel like I’m the one who should be thanking you. What you did was dangerous and reckless but… It was also pretty impressive”, Max admitted. “Where my magic failed us, your logical thinking saved my life. You seem to have a way with the sword too”, he added and Wilson could swear his cheeks had a little more color than usually.

“I was trained in sword fighting. Most of the time it was just for show but I enjoyed dueling when I was younger”, Wilson explained.

“Either way, I am grateful. You were very brave. But you should work on your battle cry. What kind of spider has six eyes? Really?”, Max’s had a hard time dealing with the fact that despite being a powerful wizard he could hardly do anything when trapped by the net and that a rather scrawny scientist saved his life. It hit even harder because despite himself he found Wilson cutting off a giant monster’s head surprisingly attractive.

“You think I can take this head home? It may have some interesting properties”, Wilson was already busy examining the spider head up close and seemed to ignore Max’s teasing.

“Why of course. Spider blood an eyes are precious ingredients, not to mention their silk and glands. Let’s take what we can and head back”, Max was happy to drop this topic and forget about those unexpected thoughts. As far as he knew Wilson wasn’t even interested in men, not to mention interested in him. They might have grown to enjoy each other’s company but this was going way too far.

Maybe he should have thought about it sooner because if he was already ready to take an attack aimed at Wilson himself it might have been a bit too late.

Unaware of Max’s internal conflict, Wilson was already removing the glands from the spider’s body with a little help of his trusty sword. Max decided to ignore those thoughts for now and help him. There was too much he had to hide. He couldn’t let Wilson get involved in his problems.

***

They returned when it was already getting dark, followed by a group of shadow clones carrying the cut wood and bags full of removed parts of spider corpse. After dinner Wilson took a quick bath to clean himself from all the spider blood and since Max was too busy with putting all their trophies into proper jars and boxes to play chess, he went to bed early.

He was lying in the dark for a while, his mind reliving the events from the day once again. He had defeated a giant spider to save Max’s life which was only a logical thing to do after Max pushed him out of the harm’s way. If he really decided to run, the spider would have probably made Max its next snack. The wizard was aware of it and yet still chose to intervene. Wilson didn’t expect such heroism from him.

He also didn’t expect himself to like it.

Groaning, he pulled the covers over his head. The stupid talk with Wes from the day before was getting to him. The idea of him being together with Max didn’t seem completely unappealing then and now he was actually allowing himself to dwell on it. Only because a guy decided to save him from a slow agonizing death in a sticky spider web. It didn’t help that he saw Wes being so open and confident about liking men, at least compared to anyone else he’d known. Wes made him want to be so spontaneous too but the rational part of his mind was still wary. If Max would decide to kick him out now, he had no idea where would he go.

He didn’t know exactly how long was he lying in the dark, tossing around the bed sheets but at some point he realized that the moonlight and the stars were gone. It still wasn’t pitch black but something didn’t feel quite right. He sat on the bed, wanting to open the door and check if Max was still working downstairs but then something moved in the room.

First, he heard footsteps, the sound of heels hitting the wooden floor. Then a woman emerged from the darkness as if she shaped herself from the surrounding shadows. A woman he had seen before.

“Charlie”, he hissed. He regretted not keeping the sword by the bed.

“So we meet again, my dear Wilson”, she said, sitting next to him and taking his chin into her hand. “Look at you, so fond of your charming host. But honestly, do you know anything about him?”

“I know that he’s helping me with the curse that you’ve put on me”, Wilson growled, pushing her hand away.

“Generous, isn’t he? But tell me Wilson, if he’s so good why don’t you have a cure yet? You were lulled into a false sense of safety but how do you know that he isn’t the real curse? He wants to keep you here and yet he still haven’t told you anything about himself or about me…”, she leaned closer and whispered into Wilson’s ear. “Maxy has always been such a selfish man.”

Then she dispersed back into the shadows, her laughter echoing around Wilson, vibrating inside his head, making the darkness close on him and swallow him completely until there was nothing left.

He woke up screaming. The room was back to normal, moonlight gently illuminating his desk and all the papers lying on it but he didn’t feel safe. He jumped out of the bed, disturbing Chester sleeping beside it, grabbed his dressing gown and walked downstairs. Max welcomed him with a surprised look from above one of his jars filled with spider glands.

“Wilson? I was already going to- Is there something wrong?”, he asked with concern, seeing Wilson’s face.

“Max, who the hell is Charlie?”


	5. Charlie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilson learns more about Maxwell's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, trying to connect Don't Starve lore with Howl's Moving castle lore: 
> 
>  
> 
> ANYWAY some backstory in this chapter, hope you enjoy it! There's also some more GAY because I'm gay and I said so? And some more Wes, sassy Wes for the win.
> 
> Thank you guys for all the lovely kudos and comment,s they really make my day and encourage me to work more!  
> And as always huge thanks to my lovely girlfriend for checking it for mistakes! <3 

“Max, who the hell is Charlie?”

Maxwell’s face went pale. He opened his mouth and then closed it, completely unable to answer but then he furrowed his brows and took a step forward.

“Wilson, your hands”, he said. Wilson raised his hands to take a look at his palms and yelped. The curse was moving again but this time much faster than before. He could see parts of his hands disappearing right before his eyes. He gave Max a helpless look but the wizard was already going through the drawers looking for the right bottle. When he found it, he pressed it to Wilson’s lips, letting him take a sip. After a moment his hands were back to normal but his heart was still racing.

“It shouldn’t have worn off yet. And it shouldn’t be moving so fast”, Max sat on the chair with a sigh and then looked at Wilson with serious expression. “Is Charlie the one who cursed you?”

Wilson nodded, sitting next to him, rubbing his hands against each other in a nervous gesture.

“She waited for me at my aunt’s home. She said that since I’m a scientist I will probably hate what she is about to do to me and sort of… Put shadows under my skin? It hurt but at first I didn’t notice any change until the tips of my fingers started disappearing”, he answered. “She didn’t say anything about you back then but today I had this weird dream. She appeared in my room and said that you were still selfish and that I should have considered you the real curse. Then she disappeared and I woke up like this. Who is she?”

Max sighed again, hugging himself with his arms. He looked surprisingly vulnerable like this, deep in thought and visibly distressed and for a moment Wilson almost felt bad for dragging things that may be hard to talk about out like this. However his life depended on it and he needed to know.

“Charlie used to be my friend”, he admitted after a moment of silence. “She helped me build this castle. She also wasn’t bothered by my thirst for power and that’s what lost her. You know wizards were used in the war as a battle unit, right? It was voluntary but many young wizards felt like it’s their opportunity to learn more about magic and to become useful for their country. I was one of them. I didn’t care much about all the patriotic talk but you need to know that where I came from there weren’t many wizards. I had no one to teach me and I was pretty bad at magic. The war was a chance for me to find a teacher and improve.

During my time there I met Charlie. She was not a wizard, she worked in the palace as my teacher’s assistant. However, she had a great knowledge about magic and even greater interest to learn more about it. We became close friends. I appreciated her curiosity, cheerful attitude and intelligence. It’s thanks to her that my teacher even considered taking me in as an apprentice.

However, I’ve never imagined the horrors we’d be asked to go through. I’ve watched people I trained with die one by one. We were taught magic secrets that others would never dare to consider. And yet I haven’t backed off, at least not until my brother’s wife and daughter died in the bombing.

I argued with my teacher and left, taking one book - Codex Umbra - along. A book full of dark spells and secrets they were using to turn us into the best soldiers. If they weren’t able to do that anymore, they would have no choice but to end the war. I tried to flee the country but there was an accident. My train fell out of the tracks and crashed. One of the cars exploded. I took this opportunity to sneak out. No one thought I had survived and they suspected the book burned in the wreckage along with my corpse.

I changed my name and my image, however I barely had any money, not to mention any idea where to start my new life. That was when Charlie found me. She said she had never believed that I was dead and that I was stupid to run away with the book in the first place. Then she promised to help me. We built this castle that allowed us to be constantly on the move and yet still close to the most important places. We quickly got some clients and our life became pretty stable.”

“But then it all went to hell?”, Wilson guessed. Max nodded slowly.

“My curiosity got the better of me. I’ve started studying the Codex and the more time I spent on it the more corrupted I became. I’ve started seeing shadow figures with the corner of my eye, always watching. I learned that I could power the castle with a special fuel described in the book that the army used to power up their machines with but to harvest it I had to bring myself to the state of almost insanity. I’d lock myself away pursuing the forbidden knowledge that was supposed to make me better and more powerful than ever. Charlie tried to confront me about it but I wouldn’t listen. I was a proud fool, hungry for power.

One day I asked her to help me with an experiment. It was supposed to be the last one, one that would give me the unimaginable power no other mage could achieve. I had no idea what exactly it was supposed to do but the way it was described in the book fascinated me. She agreed, hoping that it will put the end to my hunger for power. The experiment was a failure. Charlie disappeared in front of my eyes and the energy that was released from the Codex caused a huge earthquake. I lost my consciousness and woke up in the morning on the floor of the basement with that cursed book open. I looked for Charlie everywhere but she was nowhere to be found and I quickly understood what have I done. Sometime during my chase after power I’ve lost the sight of what’s important and that cost Charlie her life.

I tried to find an answer to what exactly happened to Charlie but the Codex didn’t say anything. At nights I’ve felt as if she was somewhere in the shadows, watching me. Once my light went out and I felt something getting closer to me in the darkness. I was so terrified I almost tore down a curtain to let some moonlight in.

One day when I walked down to the basement to add fuel to the castle’s power center I saw her. She was avoiding the light and her silhouette was wavering like a shadow but I knew It was her. I called her name and she looked at me completely differently than she used to look. Her eyes were so cold and hateful I froze in place.

“This is what you’ve done to me, Maxy. Are you happy? Was it worth it?”, she asked. “I’m one of your shadows now but somehow even less. It took me some time to realize I don’t simply stop existing in the light but nevertheless, I have no power whatsoever. In the dark, on the other hand… You can’t image what I can do. In a way I can say your experiment was successful so be a good boy and hand me back the Codex so I could properly take my place as the Queen of Shadows.”

I was scared. This wasn’t the Charlie I know. I tried to convince her to come back, I promised that I will find the way to fix this but she wouldn’t listen. She tried to attack me but I wasn’t able to bring myself to fight her so I cast a spell that lit up the whole castle, every little hole and chased her away. I knew she will come back as soon as she regains her strength so I created a barrier. You might have noticed all the lanterns outside. They are there to make sure Charlie won’t access the castle.”

Max finished and his face looked as if he grew ten years older. He massaged his temples with sigh and glanced at Wilson to check his reaction.

“You say that all of this is happening to me because of your stupid experiment?”, Wilson didn’t take long to absorb all the information and reach a conclusion. “What about the flowers and the shadows that were chasing me? Was that Charlie? Why didn’t you warn me? And why would she come after me in the first place?”

“The shadows were what I would harvest the nightmare fuel from. Destroying them allows me to power up the house. After the experiment they started to appear more frequently and attack people who aren’t in their right mind. I do my best to fight them off. The flowers is another thing that happened after that. They usually grow during full moon or in places where magic is strong. I can refine them into the fuel, which is much easier than fighting the shadows”, Maxwell explained. “You picked the flowers so the shadows were after you. I only happened to be there on the right time to help. As for Charlie - since she became a shadow monster, I don’t know what’s in her head. It’s almost as if she was possessed by something. It may be just her way of causing mischief or maybe she needed someone to share her existence with”, he shook his head. “Either way you don’t deserve this. I’m sorry meeting me brought you so much misfortune, Wilson.”

Wilson watched him for a moment in silence, then he got up, approached Max and punched him right in the face as hard as he could, making him fall to the ground together with the chair he was sitting on.

“Ouch! Fuck, Wilson!”, Max touched the place where Wilson hit him as if he didn’t believe this just happened.

“You know you deserved that”, Wilson answered. Then his expression softened and he reached out to help Max get up. “I can’t say I’m not mad and that this situation isn’t bullshit. I also feel obligated to call you a reckless idiot for playing with something you don’t understand but I think you’ve paid enough for your mistakes. Maybe I will sound like a lunatic but this situation allowed me to leave my house and finally do something with my life. Believe it or not, I would still choose this place over another ridiculous ball. Besides - you promised you will be able to find a way to break the curse, right? I will trust you on this, Max”, he said, smiling a little. When Max got up, he let go of his hand. “I’m sorry about your girlfriend but right now she’s a real piece of work you know?”

“My girlfriend? Who said anything about that?”, Maxwell raised his eyebrows in disbelief. Did Wilson really thought him and Charlie were a couple?

“Wasn’t she?”, Wilson asked, equally surprised.

“Of course not. I’ve already told you, she was a friend of mine. It may come as a surprise but my interest lie quite elsewhere. Charlie on the other hand liked men but she preferred women over them”, Max said. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Wilson blushed a bit, raising his hands in a defensive gesture.

“Not at all. That would make me quite a hypocrite. Why do you think a thirty-five years old noble is still unmarried despite many appealing candidates?”

“My, Wilson, aren’t you scandalous. I’m starting to think science was not the only thing you were doing in that basement”, Max smirked. Deep inside he was relieved. He expected Wilson to leave or at least grow to hate him but it seemed that he had misjudged him. Deep in his stomach, however he felt coldness. There was still something he couldn’t bring himself to reveal. He felt like hiding it will make things only worse but right now he wanted to keep this moment going for as long as possible.

Wilson snorted at that remark.

“Of all the men I’ve met it’s the biggest asshole who has to like men, huh?”, he said, shaking his head in fake disappointment. “That’s just my luck.”

“I could say the same thing”, Max answered. “A self-proclaimed scientist who’s also the family disappointment is hardly a good catch.”

“I’m going to punch you again”, Wilson warned and then both of them looked at each other and started laughing.

“I will make more of the potion to have it at hand at all times. You can stay here if you want to”, Max said when they finally calmed down. Wilson nodded. He didn’t feel like being alone. He sat by the table and watched while Max chopped down the ingredients.

“You said Charlie can’t access the castle, right? And yet when I saw her in my dream she was so… Real. It was as if she was really talking to me”, Wilson said after a moment of silence. He rested his chin on his palm, his eyes following Max’s hands.

Max didn’t answer for a moment, his brows furrowed in thought.

“From what I’ve observed, Charlie has some kind of link to the shadow creatures. If you’re technically partly a shadow she may have a way to influence your dreams, especially if you’re not in the best place mentally - for example scared or tired”, he finally answered. Wilson sighed. That would explain it. When the nightmares woke him up at night, he was usually exhausted in the morning. One time he had almost fallen asleep while cleaning the dishes and found himself wiping one plate for ten minutes.

“I’ve been having nightmares since I came here. The shadows chasing me and all that fun stuff. Sometimes they’re really gruesome so I don’t go back to sleep at times”, he admitted and waited for Max’s snarky remark or teasing - but it never came.

“I will prepare a spell for good sleep if you want”, he said instead. Wilson nodded.

“Thanks, Max”, he said warmly but was too tired to notice the slight color rising on Max’s face.

“Don’t mention it.”

***

Next day welcomed Wilson with a sun shining in his face. He groaned, looking for the covers to hide from it but instead he caught something that surprisingly resembled a sleeve. He opened his eyes, surprised and only then he realized that he wasn’t in his bed. He was still downstairs in the armchair he had fallen asleep in when he first came to the house, covered by something that after closer inspection turned out to be Maxwell’s coat. He didn’t know how he found his way to the armchair because he couldn’t remember anything besides the calming movements of Max chopping down his ingredients. He assumed that he fell asleep at some point and Max simply moved him to the armchair. With magic probably, although the thought of Max carrying him princess-style seemed amusing.

He yawned, stretched and got up to finish cleaning some of the dishes that had been abandoned in the sink. He considered making breakfast but he was never too good at cooking and after his first attempt Max absolutely forbade him from making anything that required heating up ever again. Instead he opened the window and looked outside, leaning against the windowsill.

It was probably one of the last sunny days before winter claimed the world. The air was chilly but the sunshine made the whole world look different despite that. Away from darkness of the night, all the nightmares and Charlie seemed completely insignificant. He could see one of the lanterns around the house from where he was standing. It wasn’t lit anymore but Wilson knew that in the evening it would be chasing the shadows away again. It made him feel at peace. He smiled a bit, closing his eyes and breathing in the morning air.

“Wilson”, he didn’t hear Max come down until he rested his hand on his shoulder. He turned around, a bit startled but the smile returned to his face almost immediately.

“Took you long enough, I’m starving”, he said, passing him by and going back to the table.

“Good morning to you too”, Max rolled his eyes and then followed him and lit up the fire on the stove to prepare food.

“I would actually love to run some test on this nightmare fuel of yours”, Wilson admitted. “Maybe it’s some unknown substance…”, he started talking about some scientific stuff Max didn’t entirely understand but it was still nice - listening to someone talk when he was cooking. After Charlie he avoided people. He closed himself off, limiting his contact with others only to work. He still wasn’t sure why had he let Wilson stay with him in the first place but some part of him was screaming to end this solitude back then. At first he would find Wilson’s constant will to argue about science and magic annoying but now his passion and desire to expand his knowledge was rather endearing. It was funny how much could change with a little time.

They ate breakfast together and then Max stopped the castle by the side of a beautiful lake so Wilson could make laundry. They stretched a few ropes between the most protruding parts of the castle for the clothes to dry later and then Wilson started washing them in a wooden bowl. Chester, euphoric about the stop jumped out of the house zapped around and rolled in the grass until he hauled himself into the lake and ran towards Wilson, dripping wet.

“At least you won’t stink that much”, Wilson laughed, petting the wet fur. Then Chester noticed Max, coming from the castle with a handful of clothes and sprinted towards him on his stumpy legs.

“Don’t you dare, you stupid mu-“, Max started but he didn’t get a chance to finish because Chester jumped on him causing him to fall over and drop the clothes he had been carrying. Then Chester gave Max a generous lick on the face, completely ignorant of the wizard’s attempts to push him off. When he finally was free of the mutt, Max had a huge wet and a little muddy stain on his shirt. He picked up the clothes, cursing Chester,

“Go back, you will catch a cold”, Wilson said, taking the clothes from him. “And then bring those here, I think you will want me to get rid of that mud.”

“Alright”, Max agreed and returned to the castle. Wilson washed a pair of socks and wanted to reach for another shirt when he realized that he had ran out of soap. He shook his hands off water, dried them on his barely dry itself apron and walked back to the castle to get some more.

As soon as he entered the castle, he felt his throat go dry. Max was standing in the middle of the room by the stove, folding his dirty shirt properly. He was half-naked, only in his trousers that had the fly open since he had to pull the shirt out. Wilson found himself staring at his lean back, his traitorous mind wandering into places he didn’t want to consider before.

“Are you here to watch me undress?”, Max’s voice interrupted his this unwanted fantasies and Wilson felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment. He was an adult, he had no business staring at his housemate like some horny teenager only because he happened to see him bare-chested.

“Sorry”, he blurted out and turned around, leaving the castle as fast as possible. Only after he was standing by the bowl, he remembered that in the end, he didn’t bring any soap.

***

At first Wilson felt embarrassed about his reaction and the fact that he would find half-naked Max attractive enough to prompt some unwanted fantasies. Max, however, acted as if nothing happened so after some time Wilson relaxed and decided to play it off as a joke. It was no big deal, he was just startled. Besides, such reaction was probably influenced by his newfound awareness that Max was an option - not because he actually found him attractive. Just simple biology.

However, it wasn’t human biology that couldn’t stop him from smiling when he saw Max preparing breakfast in the mornings. Such domestic atmosphere made him feel all warm inside, like a sip of a hot drink on a chilly day. It wasn’t something he used to have before coming here so he didn’t really know how to handle it but it made him happier than ever.

One day he was cleaning up the kitchen when he heard knocking. He passed by Max who was busy with preparing some amulets for his clients and opened the door. To his surprise, outside was Wes with a bouquet of flowers.

“Don’t tell me you’re back for the love potion”, Wilson sighed. Wes snorted and shook his head, pushing the bouquet into his hands.

“I’m actually here to thank you”, he signed, smiling happily. “I confessed to Woody and let me tell you, he can chop me like a tree anytime.”

Wilson laughed, taking the flowers and moving away to let him in. He felt happy for Wes and hoped that his relationships won’t end like most of his own had.

“You want some tea?”, he asked, putting the flowers away, pouring water into the kettle and then putting it on the stove. Wes nodded and sat by the table, signing a greeting to Max.

“He says hello”, Wilson translated.

“I assumed that much, thank you. And I would like a tea too, please”, Max answered.

“I know you want one”, Wilson answered, completely oblivious that Wes is curiously observing this exchange. He set one cup in front of Max after the tea was done and put the other two next to Wes before sitting with him at the other end of the table.

“So how are things between you two”, Wes signed with a playful smile.

“I’ve told you, it’s not like that”, Wilson signed back, for some reason preferring for this particular conversation not to reach Max’s ears.

“You seem pretty close though”, Wes insisted.

“Well, we’re living together, it’s only natural to grow closer”, Wilson answered.

“You would think so but for example my roommate is a complete mystery to me. She’s an actress and gets so invested in her roles that I have no idea where her actual personality starts. Right now she’s some norse warrior. She screams a lot and wears a helmet everywhere she goes.”

Wilson snorted, trying to imagine Wes getting along with someone like that.

“He’s watching you”, Wes signed. Wilson blinked in surprise and turned around to look at Max who immediately returned to whispering spells to a gem lying on the table, his cheeks tinted with pink only a little bit.

“Come on, Wes, he has no reason to be interested in me”, Wilson signed, shaking his head. “Maybe we were just disturbing his work.”

“With what, our not talking?”, Wes raised his eyebrows with amusement. “You’re an attractive guy, give yourself some credit. The old banana has all the reason to like you.”

“Old banana?” Wilson asked with a smirk. “Now that you mention it, his face does kind of look like one.”

“Now that you say it, I remember one day…”, Wes started and for the next hour he and Wilson sat by the table sharing funny stories and talking about the city with Max glancing at them from time to time, completely at loss about what they’re talking about.

Finally Wes said his goodbyes and Wilson walked him to the door. He promised to pay a visit soon and left. Wilson walked to the table and picked up the teacups to wash them.

“Are those flowers for you?”, Max asked, eyeing the bouquet.

“Well, yes, it would seem so, why?”, Wilson answered.

“No reason. I was just wondering if this man was trying to court you”, Max wasn’t looking at him but from the tone of his voice Wilson could say that something was bothering him.

“Of course not - Wes wanted to buy a love potion but I told him to talk to his crush instead and he did. He came to thank me for the advice because apparently they’re together now”, Wilson explained. “That’s literally the opposite of courting me.”

“I see. You just seemed to get along well. Forgive me for assuming”, Max answered. His shoulders fell a bit and he seemed to relax. Wilson watched this change a bit surprised, having no idea why Max would even care if someone was trying to court him. Max however seemed to be satisfied with the answer enough to drop this topic so Wilson just shrugged, carried the cups to the sink and started washing them.


	6. Jack and Wendy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilson learns a bit more about Maxwell's family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO FIRST OF ALL I AM REALLY SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG BUT I RE-WROTE THE BEGINNING FOF THIS CHAPTER LIKE 3 TIMES
> 
> Seriously I managed to write another short story in the meantime before I got my shit together and figured out how to handle this chapter. Of course some of the pieces of the old concept are still here mostly descriptions but the whole premise drastically changed. Great thanks to my amazing girlfriend for helping me to figure it out and kick me to continue writing. 
> 
> Having said that, in the end I'm pretty happy with how it came out, especially the ending! Hope you guys enjoy, many thanks for your comments and kudos, they mean a ton to me! Many thanks to my girlfriend for checking the thing for mistakes too <3
> 
> (also if you feel like getting some Maxwil content set in canon you can check out the short story I meantioned, Happiness, thank you!!!!)

“Who’s the letter from?”, Wilson asked.

They had been sitting in the library, Wilson completely absorbed in a new book he borrowed the day before and Max scouting old scrolls for a cure to Wilson’s curse when someone knocked to the door. Max left to open it and returned after a moment, opening an envelope of a letter. He started reading, his expression going from unreadable to concerned.

“It’s from my brother, Jack. He says a messenger came by yesterday evening and asked him to pass a letter for me. He told him I was dead but the messenger was stubborn and left the letter anyway”, Max answered, folding the paper. “Jack says it would be wiser to lay low for a while.”

“Of course it would. Why would someone try to contact you after such a long time? They must have some proof that you’re alive. Better not show yourself in Kingsbury for some time”, Wilson said, looking at him with worry.

“I disagree. I am convinced that they are fully aware that I’m alive, they just either don’t know where to find me or are not interested in pursuing me for some reason. If they don’t know where I am, the letter was probably a bait and by messaging me, Jack revealed my location to someone who could potentially be watching. If they’re not interested in pursuing me, I may as well go and pick the letter up”, Max answered. He looked at Wilson and his expression softened. “Why the long face?”

“If you end up imprisoned or executed, I will hardly be able to find the cure myself”, Wilson pointed out, frowning. It wasn’t what he was most worried about, though. He thought that by Max’s side he had finally found a place for himself. His heart ached when he imagined losing it.

“If my old teacher is the one who sent this letter, I’m quite sure she’s not looking to capture me. If she did, she would have already done so. She’s a woman of action”, Max said. “Jack mentioned that the envelope had a royal seal on it and I can’t imagine anyone else sending it.”

“So you’re going to pick the letter up?”, Wilson asked. Max frowned and looked away, rubbing his right arm with his hand.

“Ah, that’s… Not something I have decided on yet. See, after I let Jack know that I’m alive I haven’t exactly spoken to him much. Due to the circumstances I told him it would be safer if we didn’t have much contact. I kept the dial set to my hometown in case of emergency so he would always know he can count on me but I haven’t contacted him even though he kept inviting me to his daughter’s birthday”, he explained.

“Safer? You think your own family would betray you?”, Wilson seemed surprised. His family would sell him to a government for one handshake from one of the higher nobles, that he didn’t doubt but he always imagined Max’s brother differently.

“No, I never thought Jack would betray me. But you must understand, Wilson, I was ashamed. I stole from the government and ran away from my service. I basically faked my own death. And after what happened to Charlie I didn’t want to put them through more. I didn’t want to lose them”, Max sighed, sitting down in his chair next to Wilson. His shoulders were slouched and he was looking at the letter he was holding sadly. Wilson reached out and put his hand on Max’s.

“Don’t you think staying away from them is making them lose even more? I’m sure your brother misses you”, he said, looking at him warmly. Max gave his hand a small squeeze, putting the letter down.

“I don’t know. It’s been a few years and I never even wrote back to his letters. I didn’t know how”, he answered. “And now I will just… Arrive out of nowhere?”

“Either way, if you want to read that letter you will have to contact your brother somehow. Why not do it properly?”, Wilson said, letting go of his hand.

“Very well. But you will go with me. I’m sure Jack will be thrilled to meet you”, Max decided.

“My, introducing me to your family already? Isn’t it too soon?”, Wilson smirked.

“It’s been almost two months, Higgsbury, don’t be a prude”, Max answered, making Wilson laugh shortly. Recently he had noticed that each time he did that he felt as if he accomplished something. It was probably because he didn’t have many people enjoy his company recently and seeing how he still could make someone relaxed and at ease was comforting. Not to mention that Wilson’s jokes were mostly puns that made him roll his eyes.

***

That was how the next day they ended up in front of a tobacco shop, after walking through a labyrinth of narrow streets of Max’s hometown. The day was cloudy and it looked like it could start raining anytime so Wilson took an umbrella along. Max dressed up in a dark, elegant coat with high collar that would hide almost half of his face and a top hat. He looked like a mysterious gentleman and Wilson could imagine him roaming the dark streets of the town in the mist. He purposefully hid all the things that could make him look even a bit wizard-y, just to be safe.

The shop was not located on the main street where most of the shops were but hidden away from sight in a smaller alley. On the display lied boxes of cigars, elegant pipes and decorative ashtrays carefully arranged on a green fabric. The plate on the door informed that the shop was open.

“Let’s go in, shall we?”, Max pressed the doorknob and let Wilson in. It was a small, cozy shop with a few displays, one with different pipes placed on holders, other one with ashtrays in different shapes and sizes. Behind the counter in the back there were small drawers, each labeled with a name of a different brand of tobacco. Next to the door there were doors leading to the back room.

“Tobacco shop?”, Wilson raised an eyebrow, looking at Max.

“Business like any other. Rich men love their cigars, right?”, Max answered, shrugging and then approached the counter. “Jack! It’s me!

There was loud thump heard from behind the door followed by a series of curses, then it opened and a man entered the shop. He had longer hair than Max, was a bit chubbier, had a beard and there were crow’s feet by his eyes, hinting that he smiled much more than his brother. There were also undeniable similarities. Both brothers had long faces with a hooked nose, rather small eyes and were offensively tall from Wilson’s point of view.

“William!”, Jack’s face lit up as he walked past the counter and crushed Max in a bear hug but then it darkened when he moved away to take a better look at him. “You were not supposed to come here! That’s literally the opposite of what I’ve told you!”

“I know. But trust me, if I was in any danger, we would already know about it”, Max promised, patting his shoulder a bit awkwardly. He clearly wasn’t used to such displays of affection. “Also I go by Maxwell now.”

“Right. Sorry about that. I will go upstairs and bring you the letter right away… Unless you would like to stay for dinner? And who is your friend? Have more manners, introduce him!”, Jack looked at Wilson curiously.

“Wilson P. Higgsbury. It’s a pleasure”, he said, reaching out to shake Jack’s hand.

“Wilson helps me around the house”, Max explained.

“The pleasure is mine. I’m glad someone’s keeping an eye on my brother. He can be a real piece of work sometimes”, Jack laughed, giving Wilson’s hand a firm, confident squeeze.

“About the dinner, we really-“, Max started.

“Would love to stay. Thank you”, Wilson interrupted with a polite smile. Hearing that, Jack beamed.

“Perfect! Wendy will come back from school soon and I will quickly go to the shop for some more meat since we didn’t expect to have guests today. Don’t say anything though, it’s not a problem at all! In the meantime let’s go upstairs, please make yourselves at home!”

Jack flipped the plate at the door to “closed” and lead them upstairs to a small flat with two rooms and a kitchen. He asked them to sit down in the guest room that, assuming from the bed in the corner, was also the place where he slept and went to prepare some tea. Wilson curiously looked around. The place was really small and a bit messy, pieces of clothing laying scattered around as if their owner couldn’t find the right one in the morning. There was a small window going out on to a backyard, a solid wardrobe and a table with chairs, where they had been seated. Near the door stood a dresser decorated with some pictures. Wilson recognized Jack with a woman and two blond-haired girls, his wife and daughters probably. In the next one he could see a much younger Jack with less beard on his face, having his arm around the shoulders of a thinner and nervous-looking man with glasses who seemed familiar.

“Max? You used to wear glasses?”, Wilson looked at his companion in surprise. It wasn’t just about the glasses. Young Maxwell had none of the confidence the current one presented and compared to him was rather unimpressive, but there was an air of innocence around him that Wilson found quite endearing. Max in the picture had no idea what he will have to go through.

“Yes. They made me look like a fool. The wizard volunteers were offered to have some of their medical conditions fixed with use of an advanced healing magic”, Max answered.

“I don’t think they were that bad. You looked sweet in them”, Wilson disagreed with a smile.

“Ha! Sweet? Hardly. You can call me many things, but sweet isn’t one of them”, Max laughed bitterly.

“I think you can still be pretty sweet when you’re not busy moping or complaining”, Wilson teased and Max’s smile turned into a frown but his cheeks reddened.

“Whatever you want to believe”, he answered, avoiding his eyes and Wilson decided to consider this battle won.

The door opened and Jack walked in, carrying three teacups and a plate of cookies on a tray. He put it on the table and sat next to Max and they started talking. Wilson quickly found out that Jack won’t hesitate to share embarrassing stories from their younger days despite Max’s dismay. He was curious to learn more about his… Host? Friend? At this point he felt he could actually call Max that. It was weird. Until now most of his friends were people with whom he had kept contact only via letters. There hardly was anyone to whom he had been close in his hometown and he was sure that if his life continued on that track at some point he’d just end up disowned, living in some falling apart shack in the middle of the forest.

Then the bell downstairs rang, letting them know that someone entered the shop.

“Father?”, girl’s voice called.

“Upstairs, honey!”, Jack answered and soon they heard someone walking up the stairs. The door opened and a girl entered the room. She couldn’t be more than ten, had long wavy blonde hair and a pale face with dark circles under her eyes. She was wearing a school uniform and had a red ribbon in her hair.

“Wendy, you remember uncle William, right? He’s called Maxwell now. He’s travelling the world and is a great wizard”, Jack gestured towards Max. “He and his friend Wilson came to pick up that letter we got.”

“He’s the one connected to you with the bond of blood”, Wendy said quietly, examining Maxwell. It was hard to tell what she thought about him.

“After Abigail died, Wendy became a bit… Solemn. Doctors say it’s her way of coping with loss”, Jack explained, a bit embarrassed.

“I begun to understand the inevitability of death”, Wendy confirmed, nodding.

“Okay, I’ll go to the shop now! Tell uncle how the school was, alright? “, Jack kissed her cheek and left in hurry, leaving Max and Wilson with a little disturbing ten-years old.

“So... School, huh?”, Wilson smiled, a bit awkwardly. It wasn’t that handling children was hard for him but he had never met one so peculiar before.

Wendy, however, shook her head and took off the backpack she was wearing to pull out a flower. Wilson quickly recognized the flower he’d seen in the picture with both girls and Jack’s wife.

“What is it, dear?”, Max asked.

“Abigail would like to say hi to you too, uncle”, Wendy answered. Wilson’s face fell. Was this girl really missing her sister so much that she carried around the flower she used to wear in her hair? Did she think that by showing Max the flower, he will somehow communicate with his deceased niece? He felt a wave of sadness wash over him when he looked at Max’s face and saw it was both shocked and hurt. He wanted to reach out and comfort him but then the flower started to bloom and float above Wendy’s hands and then a white, translucent shape appeared. It didn’t look very human but somehow its big eyes were similar to Wendy’s and there was a flower on top of its head. 

There was no doubt that Max’s niece had just summoned a ghost.

“Heavens, Wendy! How did this happen?”, Max got up and was now examining Abigail, holding his chin in thought. The ghost moved towards him and rubbed against his shoulder, sending cold shivers through his body.

“I just really didn’t want her to go”, Wendy admitted. “So she didn’t. She stayed to play with me.”

“What in the world… Is that even possible?”, Wilson looked at Max.

“I have heard about it but I’ve never seen a real ghost myself. This is extraordinary. It means you possess a great magical power, Wendy”, Max looked at his niece with pride.

“Like you?”, she asked curiously.

“Even more, I would dare to say. Does your father know about Abigail?”, Max asked. Wendy looked at her sister’s ghost and then just shook her head.

“Some mortals aren’t supposed to learn secrets of the dead”, she said. “Father wants to move on. I will accept his wishes. But I shall not abandon Abigail.”

Max seemed to be thinking for a moment, watching the ghost that was floating around Wilson, curiously bumping into him from time to time, sending cold shivers down his spine.

“Well, when you finish school I could make you my apprentice if your father agrees”, he said finally. Wilson looked at him, surprised. He knew Max wasn’t exactly the most sociable person. Offering to teach someone meant he must have seen a huge potential in her.

Wendy’s face lit up. She didn’t really smile but her eyes widened in excitement and she quickly nodded. When a bell ringed downstairs, she quickly told Abigail to hide and the ghost disappeared. Jack came back to all three of them sitting by the table, having tea.

***

They ate dinner, Jack talking about his and Max’s childhood and boasting about Wendy’s achievements in school. Wilson could say that he loved his daughter very much and that he was trying to make her life as normal and good as possible despite all the tragedy that happened to them. Wendy would say something dark and morose from time to time and Max, who didn’t talk half as much as his brother couldn’t hide the slight smile on his face. Wilson was happy that he made him come here. Maybe it was risky but he felt like it was worth it.

When they were leaving it was already dark and the rain was pouring outside. After giving the letter to Max, Jack walked them to the door. They both thanked their host for his hospitality.

“It was lovely meeting you and Wendy. And also kind of refreshing to finally see a normal house, not one filled with bat wings and frog eyes like Max’s”, Wilson said, smirking at his companion.

“You can leave anytime if you don’t like it”, Max answered with amusement.

“Oh, I don’t mind it. As long as you don’t turn me into a frog with your abracadabras”, Wilson shrugged.

“My dear, I could but I don’t think it would help your face”, Max answered. They walked outside and he opened the umbrella Wilson had taken from the castle, holding it above both of them.

“Thank you”, Wilson said.

“I just don’t want you to complain about your hair getting puffy all day again”, Max shrugged it off as if it was the most natural thing.

“You two really get along, huh?”, Jack smiled. “I’m glad you’re not living alone and separating yourself from people, Max. Having a companion in life will do you good.”

“I… Do appreciate having Wilson around”, Max admitted, glancing at him. They were standing close because the umbrella wasn’t the biggest one and couldn’t properly cover them both. Wilson smiled in return. “We’ll be going, Jack. Thank you again.”

“I’m happy I could see you. Watch out for yourself, okay?”, Jack hugged him once again and then watched as Max and Wilson turned around and left, side by side with rain pouring around them.

***

Max offered his arm to Wilson as they were walking back home. Wilson took it, moving closer and finally hiding fully from the rain

“So you appreciate having me around, huh?”, he teased. Max frowned, blushing a little. He really hoped Wilson wouldn’t address this topic but clearly he’d been a fool to think so.

“I said what my brother wanted to hear”, he answered, avoiding his eyes.

“You’d just change the topic if you didn’t think so”, Wilson pointed out, clearly having fun tormenting him.

“I don’t know when will I see Jack again, I may as well ease his concerns a little”, Max answered. “You’re really nosy, Higgsbury, do you want me to care about you that much? I thought wizards were just annoying show-offs to you.”

“Oh, there it is. You’re trying to change the topic”, Wilson smirked. “You don’t want to admit that you like me.”

“Maybe it’s you who doesn’t want to admit that you want me to like you”, Maxwell countered.

“You wish I wanted you to like me”, Wilson said. Max leaned in to answer and suddenly realized how close they were, Wilson’s arm still hooked over his, his face turned in his direction. His heart skipped a beat and he couldn’t help but glance at Wilson’s lips before he moved away quickly.

“This conversation leads nowhere and I say we end it here. We’re already home anyway”, he said. Wilson blinked. Of course he noticed Max’s look falling on his lips but it couldn’t mean anything, right? It was a weird reaction to have about some stupid teasing. The way Max behaved, however made him aware of how they must have looked to a potential passerby, sharing and umbrella and softly bickering in the rain. He blushed a little. Luckily due to the rain there wasn’t anyone around at this time.

Max opened the door and held them so Wilson could come in. Despite the umbrella, their coats were still partly wet. Max levitated a chair towards them and hung them on the backrest before placing the chair near the stove. He then proceeded to start a fire.

“I will go to my room now, there was an experiment I wanted to finish. Get me later and we will play some chess?”, Wilson asked and Max nodded, taking out the letter and opening the envelope. Wilson watched him read for a moment, a bit worried about what the letter may contain but Max’s expression was unreadable so he went upstairs back to his room.

As soon as Max opened the letter, his suspicions about the sender were confirmed. He’d seen so much of his teacher’s clean and practical handwriting without any useless curves and spirals that he would recognize it everywhere. Besides that the envelope contained a more stiff piece of paper, decorated with golden floral patterns that looked like an invitation to some official event. He put it on the table, sighed and begun reading the letter.

 _“My dear William,”_ , the letter started. _“Or should I say Maxwell? I hope this letter finds you in good health. As you probably already suspect, I have never bought your death-faking scheme. There were secrets to the Codex we weren’t able to crack so I assumed that it had more potential in hands of a promising wizard than in mine. I will admit, for some time I wasn’t able to find you. You put your lessons into a good use and at this moment I’m still not entirely certain about your exact location, hence why I chose to contact you this way. There is something you need to know about the Codex. You might have already figured it out yourself but given how the shadow monsters still roam the country, I’ve decided it may be the time to have a serious talk with you._

_You will come to the Royal Masquerade in two weeks. We will discuss the matter during the ball. I am sure you will recognize me without fail. Until then I will keep an eye on you._

_Sending my regards,_

_Wickerbottom_

_P.S. You may take your little cursed friend along.”_

Maxwell cursed and crumpled the letter in his hands. He moved his hand, ready to throw it into the fire but decided against it in the last moment. Instead he just put it next to the other paper that must have been an invitation to the Masquerade and sat in the armchair, completely resigned. He suspected what Wickerbottom was going to tell him. He had to come up with something to convince her that there was another option but he had only two weeks. Two weeks, while in the last three years he hadn’t found anything at all. He hid his face in his hands, sighing. He knew he would have to go, otherwise it will just be a matter of time until Wickerbottom gets the Codex herself and then everything will be lost. She was not a shadow monster that could have been kept away by light and magical barriers. She was fully human and an extremely capable sorceress with years of experience that he lacked. Anything he could think of to keep her away would probably be easily removed.

What was he going to tell Wilson? Not only did he put him in danger and got him cursed but he tried to find a different way to help him despite knowing very well what had to be done. He would do anything not to let Wilson end up like Charlie. He felt like wanting to keep him around was yet another sign of his selfishness or maybe he was too much of a coward to tell him the truth – that he knew how to remove his curse from the moment he’d learned its origins.

He looked at the ball of crumpled paper that used to be the letter and got up, determined. Whatever was going to happen, Wilson deserved to know the truth. Surely he was going to be mad, maybe even leave but Max’s conscience would be clean.

He went upstairs and stopped in front of Wilson’s door before taking a big breath and knocking. He could hear coughing and then footsteps inside. Wilson opened the door, wearing his lab coat. His hair was a mess and he had stains on his sleeves and face. Despite that he seemed happy and excited and Max’s heart skipped a beat.

“Max! Chess time already? Let me change and I will be there right away”, he said, taking off his gloves.

“Wait, I need to-“, Max reached out to stop him from turning away but his hand froze midway. Wilson’s messed up hair, dirty face and curious smile suddenly made his throat go dry. He wasn’t able to tell him. “…Ask you if you will go to a mask ball with me.”

“What? Where did this idea come from?”, Wilson asked, furrowing his brows. Maxwell sighed, lowering his hand.

“That’s what the letter was about. My teacher has something to tell me about the Codex. If we are lucky she might help us find a way to lift your curse. I will be wearing a mask so no one will recognize me”, he explained. Technically it wasn’t a lie.

“I… Really hate royal balls, honestly”, Wilson said, scratching his hair. “But if I don’t go I will be worried that you will end up captured and imprisoned, so I guess I have no choice. Or should I rather say… You will end up in trou-ball?”, he grinned mischievously. Maxwell groaned but he couldn’t hold back a smile. He reached out to Wilson’s face and wiped away soot from his cheek. Wilson blinked, looking at him in surprise so he quickly pulled back in embarrassment.

“You need to wash your face. I will wait downstairs”, he turned away quickly and left, not waiting until Wilson closed the door. Soft thumping noises let him know that Chester followed him. When he started putting the chessboard and pieces on the table, the mutt bumped his leg gently, holding his eyebone in his mouth.

“Shoo, you little monster. I have no time to play fetch with you”, he said, placing the white queen on the board. Chester let out a sad noise. The eye on the bone blinked and followed Max’s movements as the orange monster went to lie by the fire and munch on it.


	7. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maxwell and Wilson go to a forest (again).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! <3 
> 
> So this chapter is pretty slow ans mostly filled with my mushy bullshit because I LOVE FLUFF but I promise things will get serious from now on so get ready!
> 
> I'm thinking this will have 2-3 more chapters and then finish, the end. Obviously not for my Maxwils because my girlfriend already has a list of ideas about what should I write next (and so do I) but we'll see about it!
> 
> Thank you all so much for comments and kudos! I see you all who regulary read and comment and it makes me super happy <3 And as always thanks to my lovely girlfriend for checking it for mistakes!
> 
> also Wilson is a monsterfucker, fight me 

In his dream Wilson was running. Behind him was a horde of shadow creatures, reaching out to grab him and devour him with their mouths full of sharp fangs. He had seen some of them before. Others, tall and intimidating, towered over the horde, moving slowly but with determination, never letting their white, glowing eyes leave Wilson’s back. They were different than others, their shoulders covered by red capes, their bodies less shadowy and more solid which somehow made them even more disturbing. He had no time to focus on that. The creatures were getting closer and he was slowly running out of stamina. The edges of his vision were becoming blurry and everything seemed to shake.

Then, in front of him he noticed a big, crouching shape. It looked like a ball of feathers and the resemblance to a bird grew when the creature stretched out its inky black wings. For some reason Wilson knew he needs to reach it. Then he would be safe.

When he was already close, he reached out and saw the creature turn around towards him. Only then he noticed that it had a rather human head, surrounded by feathers and a familiar face.

“Max!”, he called out and the creature with Max’s face grabbed his outstretched hand and pulled him close, letting him throw his arms around its neck.

“Come on, let’s go”, Wilson pleaded. Max nodded, stretching his wings and flying up into the air. Soon the shadows were just small shapes on the ground, crawling all around the place where the couple had just stood. Wilson hid his face in Max’s feathers and sighed with relief. Suddenly he felt a familiar sensation in the tips of his fingers. He gasped as he watched the curse claim his body much too quickly to do anything about it. Max wrapped his arm around him, not letting him fall when he struggled against him.

And then suddenly his mind went blank and his body light. He blinked, calming down and focused on the place where Max’s shoulder connected to the neck. He moved his hand, stroking the feathers slowly, in awe and then grabbed Max by his neck, choking him, his shadow claws digging into the flesh under the feathers.

“Agh… Wilson, stop…”, Max begged weakly but Wilson didn’t care. He squeezed harder until the movement’s of Max’s wings slowed down, the grip on his waist loosened and they started falling, back into the mass of crawling shadow creatures under them.

He woke up screaming. Immediately he knew what was going on, the sensation of his body turning into shadow already too familiar. He quickly reached out for the potion bottle he had placed by his bed to be always able to access it. Holding the flask between his palms, he opened it with his teeth and took a big gulp. A moment passed and he felt his fingers go back to normal. He closed the bottle with a sigh. 

That was a close one.

Chester, visibly concerned was watching him from the floor. Wilson called him and helped him to get on the bed so he could pet him. Max’s potions were working and he didn’t have any nightmares for a while. This one must have been triggered by his body feeling the upcoming effects of the curse but he had no idea what it meant. The huge, creepy shadows with red capes or Max’s weird feathery form were completely unfamiliar and yet he felt like he’d seen them before. He laid back down and hugged Chester, closing his eyes. He should try to go back to sleep. He probably wasn’t going to have more nightmares but his heart was still pounding in fear of what he had seen. The thing that terrified him the most weren’t the shadow creatures or even the slowly moving monsters in red capes. It was the fact that he had hurt Maxwell after he turned into a shadow himself. He felt nothing when he was choking him, nothing when they were falling down to a certain death. It was horrible.

He hid his face in Chester’s fur, closing his eyes. He didn’t know for how long he had been lying like this but at some point when he was already falling asleep he registered the sound of opening door and familiar heavy footsteps. He didn’t have any power to be bothered with it. He pulled the blanket over his head and went back to sleep.

***

“After last time, going to the forest during the night hardly seems like a good idea”, Wilson watched Maxwell prepare a bag. They were going out for some ingredients again and Max had promised that it would be a truly magical experience. Wilson obviously didn’t fail to mention what he thinks about magic but there was no usual fire in his voice. He still remembered his last night’s dream. The feeling of his arms crushing Max’s throat, his nails digging into his skin and his body shaking, desperately struggling for air and then going limp and falling. Each time he glanced at Max, all of it would come back to him and make his blood run cold. He hadn’t considered the fact that after turning into the shadow he may try to hurt someone. He was thinking about it more like disappearing of sort - existing on a different plane and being unable to interact with people. Now he could clearily see it wasn’t the case. Both Charlie and shadow creatures were able to affect the physical world and it wasn’t usually in a good way. All this time made him and Max grow close – he didn’t want to see any harm done to him, especially by his own hands.

“You may take your trusty sword along but I assure you there is no need”, Maxwell answered, unaware of how troubled his companion was. He finally stopped stashing empty vials into the bag and threw it over his shoulder. He was wearing his winter coat since the winter was already taking claim of the world and the first snow started falling this morning. Wilson also dressed warmly. His hat covered his ears and was decorated with a long raccoon tail that attracted Max’s amused looks but he didn’t care. At least he would be comfortably warm and cozy. He’d wasted enough time on dressing fashionably back when he had to attend all the royal balls.

“And I will do just that”, Wilson agreed, picking up the sword. “We will see what you’re going to say after I save your magical ass again.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, it was a one-time thing”, Maxwell frowned. It wasn’t his proudest moment, especially that recently he found himself wanting to impress Wilson. He felt like the first step should be telling him the truth but he still couldn’t bring himself to do that. Wilson seemed down so why make it worse? He could as well tell him the next day. Or the day after.

“Is it far? The night is only so long and I would like to get some sleep”, Wilson asked. Maxwell gave him the backpack.

“No one said we will walk”, he said and took a few steps away from Wilson. He started reciting a spell and suddenly black feathers sprouted out from his cheeks, growing down his neck and covering his body. Wilson gasped, covering his mouth with his hand. Maxwell’s form was changing into exactly what he’d seen in his dream. He frantically reached to his pocket to check if the bottle with the potion was still there. His body was normal and there was no way the curse would start acting up again so soon. Then Maxwell turned around, fully transformed to look at him and finally he could clearly see this unusual form. Max was even taller now. His body was covered with feathers all over and only his face stayed normal. Even his hair turned into black, slicked back feathers. He also had two big wings on his back and his legs turned into talons covered with dark, thick skin. For a moment he seemed proud, looking for signs of approval and amazement in Wilson’s eyes but seeing the his terrified expression, his face fell. Suddenly he looked almost hurt.

“Wilson, it’s me. Are you okay?”, he asked.

“I… Don’t know. What is this, Max?”, Wilson shook his head, trying to calm down. It was just a dream. It wasn’t going to happen. But how could he know what Maxwell’s form looked like if it was just a dream? He had never seen it before. He didn’t believe in predicting the future or anything like that, it was scientifically impossible to foresee any upcoming events with use of anything else other than logic but recently many weirder things had happened to him.

“We’ve been taught this in the army. This form allowed us to attack flying machines and tear them apart or blast their engines. I still use it when I need to hunt down shadow creatures for fuel. You know I’m not exactly the master of hand combat”, Max explained. He rubbed his arm with his hand, ruffling the feathers a bit. “I thought it would be faster this way. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Wilson’s expression softened a bit. He was such a fool. Normal people must have been terrified to see someone transform into a feathered monster out of the blue but Max decided to trust him with this. He couldn’t ruin it because of some stupid dream.

He walked closer, putting his hands on both sides of Max’s face. His fingers slid into the soft feathers on his cheeks and for a moment he had a flash of memory of his nails digging into them to choke the air out of Max’s lungs. He forcibly pushed it away.

“I’m not scared of you, okay? Don’t you ever think that”, he said quietly, looking into Max’s eyes. “I just had a bad dream tonight. Somehow… I saw you like this.”

Max’s eyes widened in surprise as he reached to put his hand on Wilson’s. He had no idea how was it possible for Wilson to see him like this in a dream. Maybe at some point he saw royal mages fighting in their feathered forms and this memory somehow became lost between others but never exactly forgotten? That was a possibility.

“Did I hurt you?”, he asked. Wilson shook his head.

“No. You saved me. And then I turned into a shadow and hurt you”, he said quietly.

“Wilson. If you ever turn into a shadow, whatever you do in that form isn’t your fault”, Max assured him. “And if you do I will find a way to turn you back and save you. I promise.”

He wasn’t lying. He was still looking for a way to turn Charlie back, even after all those years. He would do the same for Wilson because after all it was him who had gotten them into this situation in the first place.

“Let’s go”, Wilson said, moving away. “We don’t want the night to end before we get what we need, right?”

Max nodded and reached out to take Wilson’s hand so he could hold onto him. Wilson shook his head and scratched his hair.

“I’d prefer to grab you from the back”, he admitted. Maybe it was stupid but hanging from the front would be too much like that dream. He just physically couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he climbed on Max’s back when he leaned in and hugged him by the neck from behind.

“Hold on tight”, Max said when he opened the door and jumped out of the walking castle, soaring into the air. Wilson might have let out a really unmanly scream when he felt them falling but soon they were flying up. The castle was getting smaller and smaller, the wind was freezing and he was sincerely hoping it won’t blow his hat off his head. He pressed his face to the back of Max’s neck, shutting his eyes until their flight was more stable. It was still awfully windy but at least his body wasn’t at risk of falling and crushing against the ground since he was basically lying on Maxwell’s back.

“Are you okay in there?”, Max asked and only then Wilson dared to open his eyes. They were flying under the clouds and down below there was a forest on one side stretching as far as he could see, on the other ending and making place for a grassland. That was where he could see the castle, small moving point marked by all the glowing lanterns around it.

“It’s beautiful”, he breathed. There weren’t that many clouds and when he looked up he could see the full moon shining between them, bigger than ever.

“It took me a while to learn to appreciate it fully after the war”, Max admitted. “For a very long time it only reminded me of chaos and destruction.”

“Guess we both got a change in life that we needed, huh”, Wilson said with a small smile. “Even despite all the… Horrible stuff.”

“Well, I guess you’re right. It may not seem so at first but we’re really… Birds of a feather”, Max smirked even though Wilson couldn’t see it and then cursed himself. He really thought he was above stupid puns but apparently Wilson’s influence was too strong.

“Was that a pun, Max? Was it? Unbelievable!”, Wilson laughed.

“Better appreciate it because it’s the last time I’m making one”, Max warned.

“You make one and then you can’t stop, there’s no escaping”, Wilson smirked and then screamed when Maxwell without any warning dived, lowering his flight. “Max!”

“You deserved it. Besides we’re almost there”, Max answered and Wilson noticed that he was flying lower and lower - gently and gradually. Below them grew many big, old trees with long and tangled branches which were so thickly interlaced together that he wasn’t able to see the ground below. Max flew above their tops for a while, looking for a road to the ground. Finally he found a place where the branches were apart and landed between the trees. The forest was old in this place, Wilson could tell even without closer examination. There were sounds of animals coming from far away and between the trunks were gigantic, glowing mushroom poles with many caps just waiting to be harvested. He also noticed the flowers he’d picked when he first met Max and decided to stay as far as possible from these.

Deep in the forest they were almost covered from the wind. Everything seemed so peaceful. Fireflies flew by and everything was surprisingly bright despite the layer of branches above them.

“Come on, it’s you who said he wanted to get some sleep after we come back”, Max’s voice interrupted Wilson’s examination of his surroundings. When he turned to him, Max was already in his human form, pulling the coat around his body tightly. 

“Sorry! You think I could took a sample of those mushrooms? I’ve never seen one like this before, it may be a new species…”, happy that he was always wearing his gloves since the curse made his hands black up to his elbows, Wilson took one of the glass containers from the backpack and started tearing off parts of the mushrooms. Max rolled his eyes.

“Alright, just hurry up. We have a walk ahead of us before we get there”, he said, watching Wilson stashing mushrooms into the container with excitement. His love for science was at times infuriating but at times adorable.

“I’m done, let’s go”, Wilson decided after a moment. They started walking through the forest, scaring groups of fireflies from time to time. The glowing mushrooms caused the forest below the tree tops to be light up so they could clearly see where they were going. There was no set route so they had to watch out to not trip over some sticking out root.

They might have walked for around ten minutes before there were less trees. The trunks opened up a passage that led to a meadow full of flowers glowing red. Above the flowers were hoards of round, fluffy insect-like creatures making soft, buzzing noises. Some of them had pink goo slipping out of their mouths and dripping on the flowers.

To Wilson’s surprise they weren’t the only ones on the meadow. Scattered around the place were other people dressed ridiculously enough to be considered wizards, picking up the flowers and gathering the goop from the flying creatures. They weren’t bothered at all by the arrival of someone new and continued their work in peace without even sparing them a glance.

“Is this some kind of an annual wizard meet up?”, Wilson asked quietly. For some reason he felt like raising his voice would disrupt the peaceful atmosphere surrounding the meadow.

“A rare chance to get the precious materials”, Max answered. “Wizards know about it and there aren’t many meadows like this in the country.”

“Let’s get to work then”, Wilson said. He’d never seen creatures like those before and his hands were itching to examine them closer.

“Just go”, Max rolled his eyes and watched as Wilson ran off to slowly approach one of the floating creatures. Trying not to get its attention he examined it from all sides, making notes in a notebook taken out of nowhere. Max had asked him about it once but Wilson just smirked and said that every scientist always carried his tools around. It was quite charming, how passionate he was about science. When he would sometimes start to monologue about some complicated scientific topic Maxwell would find himself listening, despite having no idea what half of the words meant. Instead he focused on the way Wilson’s eyes lit up and how much he’d gesticulate when he spoke. He wanted that smile to stay on his face for as long as possible.

“Max! We don’t have the whole night”, Wilson called. Max blinked, realizing that he has been mindlessly daydreaming about him for a few minutes now. He felt his face heat up and immediately turned to the closest group of floating insects. He couldn’t just fall for him. Wilson wasn’t going to stay with him forever, especially not after he’ll learn about the truth. It was for the best too. He didn’t want Wilson to end up a victim to his pride like Charlie had.

He picked some flowers and started gathering the pink goop into vials. Properly prepared it would make a wonderful healing salve. Eaten raw it was still doing wonders for one’s health but wasn’t the best for their mind. Max obviously knew how to make it safe and sell well.

He already had most of his flasks full when someone poked his back. He turned around and saw Wilson standing behind him with a small smile playing on his lips.  
“What is it? Are you done?”, he asked and Wilson nodded.

“But then I saw you be all grumpy old man over here so I made a thing”, he explained and before Max realized what was happening, he put something on his head. Max touched the thing and felt flower petals under his fingers.

“A flower crown? Really? Are you seven?”, he smirked.

“I just thought it would make you look sweeter, and looks like I was right”, Wilson answered, clearly happy with himself.

“Sweeter? We’ve already established that I’m far from sweet”, Max shrugged.

“You can take it off if you want to”, Wilson said and Max blushed a bit.

“I like it where it is, thank you very much”, he answered, avoiding looking at Wilson. The scientist smiled. He was right, such shy expression on usually grumpy Max was extremely cute. Made him want to reach out and kiss his stupid fa- No, wait. He definitely didn’t want to do that. Maybe Maxwell liked men but there was no telling if he liked him in particular and even if he did, Wilson wasn’t interested. Max was a flashy asshole show-off who constantly argued with him and made him feel… Like he had a place to call home. A place where he belonged and where he could finally be himself without being looked down upon.

Darn, he was really gone, wasn’t he?

“Let’s go back. You wanted to get some sleep, didn’t you?”, Max asked.

“Yeah. Come on”, Wilson agreed, still a bit dumbfounded about what he had suddenly realized. He had feelings for Max. Of all people he had to fall for an annoying, grumpy wizard who also made him extremely happy.

They walked out of the meadow back to the place where they landed and Max changed back to his winged form. Wrapping his arms around his neck, Wilson could feel the feathers tickling his face, soft and welcoming. He hid his face in them, squeezing tighter when Max unfolded his wings and flew up above the treetops.

After they had returned to the palace they said soft goodnights, exchanging warm looks. Wilson curled in his bed with Chester by his side and sighed, gently petting his orange fur. He was there and it felt so right. Although maybe it would feel better with a certain grumpy wizard by his side.

***

The day of the ball came far too fast. They were both prepared, obviously. Max made sure that they got beautifully tailored suits and elegant masks right on time yet Wilson still didn’t feel ready. Going to the castle with a man who had been wanted by the army for years now, protected only by a piece of paper-mâché on his face felt like a suicide to him. He didn’t want Max to get captured or hurt. Despite his strong belief that it wasn’t a trap, Wilson wasn’t that trusting and made sure to hide at least a small dagger somewhere in his outfit. He hoped it wouldn’t get spotted.

Not to mention his overall dislike to all formal parties.

Max, however, wouldn’t budge. He was ready to go and talk to his teacher and on top of it seemed to absolutely enjoy the preparations. He spent at least an hour considering different suits with the tailor while Wilson waited in the corner reading a book he managed to smuggle out of the castle. Max was clearly displeased with that but Wilson didn’t care. He deserved at least a little pleasure in this torture. When his time to pick came he decided in a few minutes. He’d been through this process far too many times and all the stupid royal balls he attended with his family had at least one upside – he knew what he looked good in.

He secretly hoped Max would notice that.

The evening of the ball was a mess. Max decided to prepare two protection amulets for them just in case and finished them in the last minute. They both dressed up rather quickly in their rooms. Wilson brushed his hair and made sure they were sticking out properly. He corrected his tie and pulled his jacket down, admiring his reflection. It was uncomfortable and reminded him of the time at his aunt’s house but he knew he looked attractive. Despite constantly reminding himself that he wasn’t going to act on his feelings and try courting Max in any way deep inside he still wanted to feel his eyes on him, admiring the sight. Wearing formal wear was a sacrifice but one that had to be done.

He walked out of his room and noticed that the door to Max’s was open. He peeked inside but there was no one there, so he decided Max must have already gone downstairs. He went there and felt his throat go dry. Max was standing by the stove, waiting for him. He was wearing a white suit and a red shirt underneath, looking handsome and regal with a cigar in his mouth. His usual checkered coat was hanging on the hanger, forgotten. It was too cold for it anyway.

Wilson’s mind didn’t fail to register the fact that the two top buttons of his shirt were open.

Max turned to him, blowing out a cloud of smoke and slowly examined Wilson’s outfit from his shoes to the tip of his head. For a moment Wilson felt like running. Maybe he overestimated how good he looked. Maybe he should have just gone with his usual outfit and not bother.

“You’re quite a feast to the eyes, Mr. Higgsbury”, Max finally said in a low voice that sent a shiver down Wilson’s spine.

“You aren’t half bad yourself”, he answered with a smirk. “White and red suits you.”

“Just like black looks good on you”, Max said. “I’m glad I will be granted the pleasure of enjoying this for the whole night.”

“Enjoy while you can, as I’m not planning to put it back on anytime soon after tonight”, Wilson teased, passing him by to get his coat.

“I will keep that in mind”, Max promised and Wilson felt it sounded almost… Flirty? He decided to ignore it and put on the coat, still feeling Max’s eyes on his back.

The carriage took them to the castle’s entrance where a crowd had already gathered, getting out of their own carriages or exchanging greetings. Maxwell put on his mask and Wilson did the same. For some reason he felt less stressed now. It was just another ball. He knew how to handle a party, even if he didn’t enjoy it. Moreover, Max in the mask seemed even more alluring than before.

“Let’s go, my dear”, Max said. Wilson nodded and they got out of the carriage. In front of them, illuminated by hundreds of lights was the royal palace.


	8. The Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilson and Maxwell attend a ball.
> 
> (Yes I'm still very good with summaries)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _PULLS OUT MY BIG GAY GUNS_
> 
> HELLO NAUGHTY CHILDREN IT'S ELEGANT CLOTHING AND BALLROOM DANCES TIME
> 
> Whatever I write if I don't include a ball why am I even writing it??? Bonus points if it's a masquerade  
> Sorry for the break in posting but Chrysler got me like i don't wanna do anything
> 
> I'm back tho! AND I'M NOT PULLING ANY PUNCHES FOR THIS ONE
> 
> Thank y'all who comment and leave kudos it always makes my day! <3 And my gf who checks this shit for my typos and "there weres" owo

Wilson was sure that his aunt would die if she heard he attended the royal ball in the Kingsbury Palace. The thought almost made the torture of stiff manners and uncomfortable formal wear worth it.

Almost.

To anyone else the party must have seemed splendid. After entering the wide hall lit up with beautiful, golden chandeliers they walked along the row of huge windows starting from the floor and going way up almost to the ceiling where they were decorated with red curtains lined with golden thread. The curtains dangled slightly above the ground, thick satin shining from the lights. They matched the carpet they were walking on, following a parade of well-dressed masked royals. At the end of the hall a steward would stop every group, reading a fancy name they had chosen for the sake of this night only to the crowd gathered in the ballroom and then let them in. The names were supposed to keep the atmosphere of mystery as no one was announced with their real one and, in Wilson’s opinion, usually were extremely over the top. They reminded him of the clothes royalty would wear – unnecessarily complicated and decorative often at the cost of comfort.

Max passed their invitation to the steward and asked him to announce him as “The Shadow King”. Wilson barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. He could clearly see that his companion didn’t mind being here in the slightest and wondered if during his time in the army, Max had already partaken in such festivities. Looking how he didn’t seem swayed by the splendor and despite not being of the royal descent could handle himself between the nobility - the answer would probably yes.

“Sir, your name”, the steward interrupted his thoughts and Wilson blinked in surprise.

“Oh, right. I’m… The Gentleman Scientist”, he said. If the steward considered his quickly made up name unusual or too simple in any way, he didn’t let it show. He announced them both and let them in.

They stood on top of a wide staircase going down to the ballroom. From there Wilson could see the whole place. In the middle was a dance floor with a lot of couples dancing to the music played by a small orchestra located on a podium. The music was fast and cheerful, good for the beginning of the party to get the dancers warmed up. On the left and right of the podium the dining part started with tables going around the dance floor. Some of them were free and some were already taken by groups of nobles watching the dancers or just talking and waiting for a waiter to bring them glasses of wine. By the wall huge tables were bending under the weight of plates with food. Cakes decorated with creamy roses and floral patterns, bowls with fresh and colorful fruits, big pieces of meat soaked in aromatic sauce and golden bread with crisp outside and soft inside that smelled like home.

Or at least what a rich person considered a poor village home to smell like.

“Shall we go, my dear?”, Maxwell asked, reaching out to take Wilson’s hand. At the mask ball two men flirting or dancing wasn’t a rare sight. It was a party of play pretend and Wilson was sure that there were plenty of women dressed as men and men dressed as women in the ballroom. For this one night everything was allowed. He placed his hand on Max’s and allowed him to lead him down the stairs.

“So where is that teacher of yours? Will you recognize her?”, Wilson asked quietly when they were already at the bottom.

“Of course I will. But don’t expect her to be here yet. She likes to have an entrance”, he answered. “We can enjoy ourselves until she comes.”

“Enjoy? I was forced to attend far too many formal parties to find them enjoyable”, Wilson rolled his eyes.

Maxwell chuckled. “None of them has been in my company though.”

“You sound as if it was supposed to ease my suffering”, Wilson smirked, looking up at him. They were still holding hands but it didn’t bother him. After all everything was allowed tonight.

“Should we pick a table? Or would you prefer dancing?”, Max asked and Wilson considered it for a moment. On one hand he had always avoided dancing. It meant conversation with yet another hopeful woman believing that she would manage to get his hand. Usually it was only small talk or topics that didn’t really interest him so his answers would be polite but rather short and vague. The lady would start frowning and after two dances find another, more enthusiastic partner.

But Max wasn’t yet another boring royal who only had eyes for his aunt’s fortune. Max was someone he actually cared about and it had been quite a long time since he felt like that.

“I would like to dance”, he heard himself say. Max’s lips formed a smile that seemed almost relieved, as if he was holding his breath while waiting for Wilson’s answer.

Or maybe Wilson was just imagining things. It wouldn’t be the first time his wishful thinking had led him on.

Max took his hand and led him to the dance floor. The music was still fast, the tunes encouraging to grab your partner and twirl them around in cheerful moves. It reminded Wilson of his summer visits in his family’s country house. He’d sometimes get away and ran to the village on Sundays when the merchants from all around the country visited to sell their wares and the whole town celebrated with happy dances in the main square. Uncle Warbucks discovered him there once but instead of scolding him, he bought both of them flower crowns and they were wearing them until the end of the day much to his aunt’s disdain.

It was a good tune to warm up to and recall the steps that he hadn’t used in a while now.

Max placed his hand on Wilson’s waist and held up his other hand. They joined the other dancing couples, swiftly moving in between them. No one missed a beat.

“I didn’t quite expect you to lead. After all I’m the one with noble blood here”, Wilson admitted.

“You underestimate me. No court magician can get away with not knowing the subtle magic of a ballroom dance. If used right it can put someone under quite a spell”, Max answered. Wilson could very clearly feel every movement of the hand resting on his side.

“Are you using it right now?”, he asked in low voice, looking up at his partner.

“I think that’s up for you to decide”, Max twirled him around and let him fall with his back against his chest. “I can’t wait for your answer”, his voice was so close to Wilson’s ear it sent a shiver down his spine. The moment passed quickly though and they were soon facing each other again in proper distance required in a public ballroom. Despite that Max’s eyes never left Wilson’s face and he could feel his heart beat faster and face heat up, maybe from the physical activity in a crowded room but maybe there was another reason altogether.

It was a dangerous game.

But then the song ended and when they still didn’t let go of each other, another one slowly took its place. Soft tunes shyly broke the silence left after the previous melody, starting with gentle violin that was soon followed by a piano. The song was sweet and solemn - like a melancholic reflection on the past that reminded one where they’d begun and where were they now.

Wilson closed his eyes and let Max lead him gently through the peaceful melody. He rested his forehead on Max’s shoulder, recalling their first meeting, the evening when Max grabbed his hand and led him through the sky, away from the danger. Back then he had no idea his life had just begun to change. Now this was his reality and he swore that no matter what happened, he was never going back.

“Are you alright, my dear?”, Max’s voice rang in his ear, different this time, filled with worry instead of tension and hunger. Wilson moved his hand from his shoulder to his cheek and raised his head to look into his eyes.

“Never been better”, he promised. He felt like such a fool. He was sure that Maxwell could see the affection in his eyes right now. There hardly was any room for mistakes. His feelings could be read from his face and yet he hardly made any attempt to hide them.

Max reached for his hand and then brought it to his lips, leaving a chaste kiss on his knuckles.

“Let’s get something to drink”, he said as the song was already fading into another one. Wilson nodded, a bit dumbfounded and followed him to the tables. Max took two glasses from the waiter and passed him one.

“You’ve almost made me enjoy dancing”, Wilson said, getting his composure back. “You should be proud of yourself.”

“I told you. Subtle magic”, Max smirked. “I must say it was getting rather hot in there.”

“Is hot a problem?”, Wilson asked before he could stop himself.

Max sipped the wine from his glass. “It depends on how many layers you’re wearing. Right now it sadly is, as I will have to leave you for a moment.”

He pointed towards the stairs. A woman was standing on top of it, just like they had before and was about to be announced by the steward. She was wearing a black mask decorated with feathers but Wilson could clearly see that she was not in her prime anymore. Her silver hair were gathered into a bun, some of them loosely falling around her face. Her head was decorated with a band of small golden beads connecting bigger yellow jewels. She had a black boa around her neck, covering her shoulders and was wearing a simple, gray dress that was very elegant but hardly decorative enough for such party. Despite that Wilson could clearly see royals gaping in awe and gossiping excitedly when the steward announced her name to the room.

“The Raven Master!”

The woman walked down the stairs slowly, glancing around the ballroom in disinterest. The attention from royals clearly meant nothing to her, even when they parted to make way for her. Her eyes searched the crowd as if she was looking for someone.

“I need to go. If something happens, act normal and just leave. When you reach home set the red dial away from Kingsbury”, Max whispered to Wilson.

“You said nothing would happen”, Wilson protested.

“I said I thought nothing would happen”, Max answered, squeezing his arm. Then he let go and walked into the crowd, trying to get to his teacher. Wilson saw the top of his head moving between the nobles and felt a wave of anxiety wash over him. It might have been the last time he saw Max and yet the moment was gone just like that. 

All the things on his mind might stay forever unspoken.

***

While every noble would move away from Wickerbottom’s way, Maxwell stopped right in front of her and bowed deeply without a word. The sound of gossip increased while Wickerbottom studied him carefully with a frown on her face. Finally she reached out to him, allowing him to take her hand and place a kiss on its top.

“How good to see you, my dear”, she said. Max looked up in surprise. Her voice didn’t sound angry or annoyed but it didn’t mean anything yet. It could still be a trap.

“Let’s walk, shall we?”, she took his arm and led him to the glass door through which they reached the terrace. From there they walked down the stairs into the gardens.

Outside the sounds of the music and chattering were gone, muffled by the green hedge surrounding the paths, creating a small labyrinth. It was a place where couples often escaped to share passionate moments away from the judgmental sight of the court. Maxwell could hear giggles and quiet talking coming from a few different direction but compared to the noise of the ballroom it was still rather peaceful.

“You’ve grown in power but hardly in wisdom”, Wickerbottom said after a moment of silence. Maxwell glared at her.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. One would think you would already make a decision to end this farce once and for all and yet you’re still hesitating. You’d rid the world of those shadow creatures and help your cursed friend. One day you won’t be able to fight them all off and then no one will make sure the book doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. You can cause a huge catastrophe just because of your stubbornness”, she looked at him like a mother who caught her child on doing something they were not supposed to do.

“What if after I lock the portal and banish the shadows, Wilson will disappear too? He’s partly shadow now. I can’t take such a risk”, Maxwell shook his head.

“Wasn’t reading the Codex a risk in the first place? You need to make a sacrifice to fix your mistakes. No one will do that for you. You should be grateful I’m not having you arrested right this moment for stealing from the crown”, Wickerbottom glared at him. He knew she was right but if he closed the portal all shadow creatures would be banished… Along with Charlie. She didn’t deserve this. His pride turned her into a shadow and now he was supposed to cage her forever in a dark, shadow realm filled only with nightmares? And what would become of Wilson? His curse would be lifted most probably but what if they were wrong and he would get trapped in there too?

“I can’t do it”, he repeated. “I will find another way.”

“You haven’t found one for so many years now. Accept it. Closing the portal is the only way”, Wickerbottom crossed her arms on her chest but her voice was patient. Maxwell felt like a child who stubbornly didn’t want to accept that they may be wrong.

“I can’t risk Wilson’s life like this!”, he snapped.

“You love him”, Wickerbottom said and it was more of a statement than a question.

Max blinked, completely taken aback. “How-“.

“I know you. You may want to come off as cold and uncaring but if someone watches you closely they will know that it’s not the truth. I’ve been watching you since he came along. How eager you were to keep him around. How badly you long for his company. But you cannot trade the safety of a whole country for the potential safety of one man”, Wickerbottom said. “If you keep refusing I will have to take the Codex and do what has to be done myself.”

“Give me more time. There must be another way”, Max shook his head.

“I wish you gave me a choice, Maxwell”, Wickerbottom took out a long pin from her hair that in her hand turned into a staff. Max barely managed to duck when she pointed it at him and a beam of white energy shot out of the tip, leaving a burning hole in one of the hedges.

“I don’t want to fight you!”, Maxwell called, jumping away from another beam.

“Neither do I”, Wickerbottom raised up her staff and suddenly a flock of ravens flew towards it, circling around the tip. Then she pointed the staff at Maxwell again and the ravens all turned to him and attacked. He created a shield and an armor made of shadows that covered him from the sharp beaks. The birds crashed against it one after another and disappeared, leaving behind only single black feathers. Wickerbottom kneeled and touched the earth with her hand. The ground started shaking, making Maxwell lose his balance and lean on the hedge. Then the pavement broke and tens of purple tentacles rose from the ground, whipping the air around them. One hit Maxwell in the stomach, sending him flying into the bush. Wickerbottom pointed the staff at the bush and the vines started growing, wrapping themselves around Maxwell’s arms and legs while the rose buds blossomed into beautiful flowers. Maxwell struggled against the vines, trying to get himself free but he only made the thorns dig into his suit and skin. Wickerbottom approached him, lowering her rod.

“I will say it one more time. Do the right thing. Otherwise I will have to try making my point more clearly. Through your lover boy for example”, she said, pointing her staff towards him again. “Don’t make me do something you will regret, Maxwell.”

“Back off!”, a voice made Wickerbottom stop and turn to the left. There with a spear in his hands stood Wilson. He was holding the weapon pointed at Wickerbottom and seemed ready to strike. “Don’t touch him.”

Wickerbottom’s eyes widened under the mask.

“Wilson! I told you to leave!”, Maxwell called, struggling harder against the vines.

“Like hell I will leave you!”, Wilson growled.

“Where did you find this spear? I doubt anyone would let you get in with one”, Wickerbottom smirked.

“On the wall. I had to improvise”, Wilson moved slowly, keeping his eyes on his opponent and stopped only when he was between Wickerbottom and Max. “Is this why you called him here? To attack him?”

“I called him here to make him do the right thing, dear. I have no intention of hurting anyone until they give me no choice. As a royal mage I have to make sure my country is safe”, she answered. Wilson furrowed his brows. He didn’t believe her. He knew he probably had no chance with a powerful wizard armed only with a decorative spear but he hoped his interruption would give Max time to free himself.

And he was right. Suddenly there was a commotion on the stairs when a group of guards tried to get down.

“There he is!”, one of them called. “He has a weapon!”

At the same moment two shadow hands appeared, tearing off the vines holding Maxwell down. He turned into his raven form, grabbing Wilson with his talons and flew up before Wickerbottom could react. The guards reached her too late.

“Should we go after them, Miss Wickerbottom?”, one of them asked but she only shook her head.

“Let them go. We will see how this unfolds”, she answered, turning her staff back into a hairpin and putting it on its place before going back into the ballroom.

***

Maxwell landed at the rooftop of one of the houses near the door to the castle. It was so late that barely anyone was out on the streets and if they saw him through the window they would probably think it’s just a shadow of some bird. He changed back and gently levitated himself and Wilson to the ground.

“Why did you come? You could have died! A spear, Higgsbury? Really? You think you would stop her with that?”, Maxwell growled.

“If not for me you would be rotting in a prison cell already”, Wilson answered. Maxwell turned around and started walking towards the door to the palace without a word. Wilson followed, still offended with his reaction “Guess I don’t get a thank you?”

“Thank you for unnecessarily putting your life at risk! If she took you as a hostage I wouldn’t be able to fight her properly! I would have my hands tied!” Maxwell said, opening the door so hard they almost hit the railing on the stairs.

“Of course, because you were doing so great”, Wilson sneered.

“I had it under control and even if I didn’t, I asked you to run if something happened! Can’t you really follow a simple request?”, Maxwell took off his coat and threw it on the armchair.

“I wanted to but then I remembered that I’m not a goddamn coward who leaves someone he cares about behind!”, Wilson answered, loosening his cravat. He couldn’t wait to get rid of this outfit.

“Why? Why do you even care?!” Maxwell turned to him, his face red from anger and Wilson decided he had enough. He reached to grab the front of Max’s shirt and pulled him closer to kiss him. Their teeth crashed against each other since it wasn’t exactly the gentlest kiss but after the initial moment of surprise he felt Maxwell return it. Anger left his body as they slowly moved away from each other.

“Wilson, I need to tell you-“, Max started softly but Wilson cut him off with another kiss and at this point Max gave up. He pulled him closer, putting his arms around him and letting Wilson rest his hands against his chest. Wilson tilted his head, parting his lips a little, letting the kiss become much less innocent. Maxwell took a step forward and Wilson had to lean against the table, moving his hands to cup his face. After a moment they parted again, breathing heavily and not letting go of each other. Max pulled Wilson’s cravat and threw it on the armchair together with his coat before leaning in to leave a trail of kisses along his neck. Wilson sighed quietly, unbuttoning his shirt to give him more access. He sat on the table, wrapping his legs around Max’s waist and letting him leave red marks on his skin.

“Wilson… You’re wearing too many layers”, Max groaned, trying to unbutton his suit. Wilson only laughed, throwing his hands around his neck and kissing him again.

“Your bedroom?”, he purred quietly between the kisses and Maxwell didn’t need to be told twice.

***

Later that night Maxwell was lying in his bed, naked under the covers. Next to him Wilson was snoring softly, his hair a complete mess and his neck covered in love bites. He seemed so content and at peace but Max knew that what happened between them had been a huge mistake. He shouldn’t have given in. He should have told Wilson that he knew how to get rid of his curse before but he was too weak. Wickerbottom was right. Maybe he was more powerful than before but he was still a selfish fool.

He looked at Wilson and for a moment considered waking him up and telling him the truth but once again he chased that thought away. Tomorrow will be time for that. Right now Wilson was happy and he didn’t want to destroy it.

He wanted to indulge in this moment.

With a sigh he turned to Wilson, putting his arm around him and hid his face in his hair. Then he closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep.


End file.
